Conflict of Interest
by Nicolesque
Summary: Vegeta is a new student at Orange Star High, where Goku is their top fighter and Goku's best friend Bulma is outcast for being the top student. To get to his rival Goku , Vegeta enlists Bulma as his tutor in exchange to set her up with popular Yamcha. Tensions rise as the two get closer, putting Vegeta in a dilemma between his revenge and an unexpected spark that he can't ignore.
1. Prologue: Unexpected Desires

There she was, the fantastic array of spotlights spilling over her scantily clad body. All this time, underneath that lab coat and those giant overalls she lived in was a flawless sculpture ultimately curved just right to fit with his. Watching her spin and ever so subtly grind against her unfortunate date only made his eyes pierce harder, his bloodstream dropping southbound as fast as his patience was.

When he first laid eyes on her, she was a socially excluded princess with everything she could have ever asked for except perhaps some idiot to tolerate her and fulfill her ridiculous notion of romance. When he first met her, she had a fiery temper and a knack for verbally challenging him. When they began their agreement, she was his mortal enemy. When it ended, however...

It was a simple exchange, each person meant to walk away mutually benefitted in some way from the other. Yes, he walked away, benefitted. That is, until she did.

Sure, she got what she wanted out of the deal. Technically, so did he. But in that moment, his body temperature shooting sky high with the influx of testosterone surging him, he realized he didn't get what he wanted. Not at all.

Because now he wanted her.


	2. Observing the Ominous

Hello readers! Thank you for getting this far.. I intend to entice you with little highschool setting for B/V... Vegeta's a new student with a pension for Goku, so when he arrives he quickly notices that the best way to him is Bulma, an outstanding student who he picks to "tutor" his pretend C with ulterior motives. Bulma isn't thrilled at all to be in even the same room as our villainous Vegeta, but when he promises to set her up on a date with popular ladies man Yamcha, she apprehensively obliges. But much to his surprise as well as Bulma's, it begins to some extracurricular benefits...

Disclaimer: Dragonball Z is under the ownership of the great Akira Toriyama, Funimation, Fuji TV, and definitely not me. Its characters and plotlines are reserved to them.

Rating: M.. Because it's fun. (lemonlanguagelove)

* * *

Then he noticed her.

Being early as per usual to efficiently analyze his environment and its inhabitants with thorough scrutiny, Vegeta was a new student at Orange Star High. This being his first day, he was extremely silent, not even making a sound sitting down, getting his things with a jaguar's dexterity in its prey's territory.

About ten minutes before the class was scheduled to begin walked in a porcelain-skinned, curved female with the most peculiar hair colour that would have attracted anyone's line of vision from how deeply turquoise it was. It glistened and swayed in the air at her every movement, something he was flabbergasted that he would notice. Trying to avert his gaze, he caught the flashy smile she sent to the teacher of course, making him curse in his mind at himself for seeing that same hair colour in her eyes.

She sat down, failing to notice him or anyone else, he saw. There seemed to be a shift of air when she walked in, and not an appreciate one either. He quickly made note of this and for three excruciatingly minutes, he struggled to keep her out of his vision which proved futile with her sitting directly three levels down from him in the first row. Then Goku walked in, his kind smile changing the air immediately. He was obviously well-liked, sending hi-fives around the room before sitting. Interestingly, he didn't come off as vain as one would predict.

Vegeta felt his body instantly warm at the sight of him, however. He wanted nothing more than to punch out the living daylights in the Martial Arts Tournament champion. He was immediately reminded of the reason for his vengeance, the scene flashing through his mind until he put it to a halt.

Goku sat down next to the aqua-haired outcast, who beamed proudly. He briefly wondered if she had a desire for Goku, but saw more of a platonic glint that held no lusty heat to it. Unless she was a good actress, she seemed more relieved to have someone there who acknowledged her presence as benevolent.

"Alright, class. We're going to start, today. My name is , please takes your seats and pay attention."

Goku leaned over to Bulma, who regarded him with narrowed, skeptical eyes that then snapped towards Vegeta's direction to search faces until meeting his. Vegeta made sure to emit the most stoic expression to her as her face somewhat dropped before turning. She leaned to Goku and whispered something, making the champion giggle loudly.

"-Eh! Son Goku, something funny?" Mr. Yiruma asked, irritated. Goku shrugged and pointed back at Vegeta.

"I just didn't know they enrolled serial killers, sir!" Goku barely said in between giggles before bursting out laughing. Bulma let her mouth curved downwards in a repressed laugh. Vegeta rolled his eyes.

The teacher did as well,"Alright, enough ridicule. Being the new kid is hard enough. Class, please meet Ouji Vegeta of Eastside District."

The class gasped, the Orange Star District was at high odds of rivalry with Eastside District in their fighter culture. At every tournament, they were each other's hardest opponents. Nonetheless, Vegeta stood up as he saw the blue wonder looked up at him with a fleeting gaze of mystique. He made sure to keep his piercing stare into that gaze, privately reveling in every flash of intimidation in her face.

There was barely a clap before he sat down. She took an extra moment to try to process him, which she failed and then turned. After class ended, he stayed behind, watching her as she interacted with Goku to further determine their relationship. He couldn't help but notice the way she gingerly put her things away, obviously they were made of high value and the most updated technology, even things he recognized as not even released yet. When he saw the Capsule Corp. logo, he then understood the reason for it. She let her eyes flicker at him for a millisecond before seeing that he already had his eyes focused on her. Startled, she reverted her gaze.

She rushed to leave the classroom, quickly bidding Goku goodbye. Much to Vegeta's devious convenience, he and Goku ended up alone. Vegeta rised, "So you have some jokes, I see."

Goku's eyes slowly raised to Vegeta's. His eyebrow knitted, "Yeah it was a joke. It's how we greet new people, haha."

"How characteristic of you."

Goku noted the vicious tone in Vegeta's voice and stood up to glare at him. "Is there something wrong here?"

Vegeta scoffed, "I'm here to finally beat you to the ground as you've well deserved since your last Tournament."

Goku's eyebrows raised, "Oh really? Any reason?"

Vegeta looked away, "That's not your business, you know exactly what you did during your last spar!"

There was only one thing Goku could think of that this new kid could have referred to. A fight in which a fatality resulted, something usually evaded during any competition. Goku took a breath, blowing the memory away as he faced Vegeta head on. "Yeah well, I'm not here to fight. This is school. I won't fight around people or properties."

"Alright then, we shall schedule. Anywhere, anytime you clown."

Goku regarded him with a pause, "...I'll think about it."

With that he left an irate Vegeta there in the classroom, alone to rack his brain as to how he could approach Goku for his revenge...

* * *

"Ugh, that new guy was so weird. He kept looking at me with this cold stare like some psycho! I'm glad you got him, haha." Bulma quipped as she and Goku walked home.

"Eh, he has a hangup with me or something now. Don't think about it, Bulma, he'll screw off eventually."

Bulma looked at the dark shadow that was cast over her best friend's features. Goku obviously didn't like him, but his words came off inauthentic, as if there was more to it..

She merely nodded as they walked in comfortable silence. Knowing the mountain of homework waiting for her at home to keep her scholarship-aimed GPA, her mind swam with the list of things she had to do once she got home. Goku couldn't stop wondering how far this guy would go to get to him, but he wouldn't dare worry Bulma or make her try to confront Vegeta. Because she would.

"Well, I'll see you later, Bulma. I need to think awhile on my way home so I'll stop with you here," Goku announced in an uncharacteristic, distant tone. Bulma nodded, perturbed by her friend's behavior. As it worked on her mind, she felt herself run right into a solid person and she fell back a little. Something gripped her arm and she instinctively pulled back with a wild glare at the stranger she had collided with.

It was him!

"What do you want?!" She demanded, leaning back from him. He detected more anger than fear coming from her as he cooly regarded her.

"Absolutely nothing from you, wench."

"Oh please, like you'd get anything anyway!"

He threw his head back with a crazed smirk, pulling her shoulders and pushing her against the wall next to them. "As convinced as I am that I would get whatever I damn well pleased, you don't seem to enthused to be around serial killers. I would hate to scare you any more than I obviously have."

She narrowed her eyes, "Oh fuck off, I'm not afraid of you-"

Her words froze in the air between them as he pulled a strand of that uniquely coloured hair, the texture driving him crazy. Realizing the treachery his fingers were pulling, his dark obsidian eyes snapped back to hers with nothing short of loathing.

"Don't fuck with me," he growled. Releasing her as rapidly as he had taken her, he spun around on his heel and broodingly strode away from her, the dark flame of his hair glaring against the bright, late afternoon sun.

The sight of it made her gasp amid the intense mystique of this new guy, who just basically forced himself on her against the wall. Bulma knew she should have been irate and offended, which she was, but she felt something else entirely different. Something she had never felt before.

Pushing the strange sensations away, the blue-haired teenager sauntered off home to push her crazy thoughts away with homework.

* * *

Haha! I hope you guys like it, I swore to myself I wouldn't try a highschool fic because they seem so cliché as I am quite sure mine does as well but I can't stop! Please leave comments and feedback, I welcome anything. I have most of this one planned as it won't be huge but I can't wait to finish something again. It's been too long!

Also ask questions because sometimes I'm confusing, even to myself haha.

Thanks for reading!

~Nicolesque


	3. The Proposition

To answer a certain reviewer's question, Vegeta was only joked at as a serial killer for coming off creepy, which led to Bulma and Goku's joke about him front of the whole class. But thank you for the question and I appreciate any feedback, no matter the way it's presented! Thank you :)

And as far as suggestions go, I take them but bear in mind it has to fit my story. This is a highschool fic, but not set in Dragonball per se. It's more of an AU with certain characters in highschool with a fairly complicated situation between each of them, but in the end it's a BV highschool love story. The rivals in this story are Eastside District and Orange Star District for their Martial Arts Tournament (Yes, just like the World Tournaments in the series), and basically Vegeta and Goku. Bulma isn't rivals with anyone, she just gets excluded from most cliques for being... Bulma.

She and Vegeta are about to be on par with each other, anyway... In more ways than one. ;]

You'll find this Vegeta to be an observant, calculating bastard in a sense, but if there are any opinions on the amount of feeling he DOES show, please let me know. OOC is definitely not my goal here.

Disclaimer: Akira's, not mine. (feeling lazy much?)

* * *

"Bulma! How can you not even think he's cute?" ChiChi whined, Goku's secret crush who happened to be very close to Bulma as one of her only girlfriends and confidantes. Bulma shrugged, looking off and remembering that cold smirk implanted on the new student's face. ChiChi picked up on that lost expression that she had never seen on the heiress' face before. She bit her tongue, letting the pause proceed.

"You know, I think Goku hates him," Bulma blurted out, finally facing her best friend from her balcony, the autumn breeze swaying her blue locks as her implored hazily. She felt exhausted by this year at Orange Star high already and it had only been the first day. ChiChi tilted her head.

"But Goku doesn't hate anyone, Bulma."

Bulma looked away, disappointed at ChiChi's skeptic tone. She shook her head, trying not to think of the mysterious new kid. How close he had gotten to her, which was the closest ANY boy had gotten...

"Hey, are you okay?" ChiChi stepped toward Bulma, asking in a serious tone. Bulma looked back at her with wistful dismay.

"I'm fine, Chi. I just have a lot of homework and a lot of homeroom to look forward to tomorrow..."

* * *

That morning he noticed she was wearing a completely different outfit than the day before. She was wearing a skirt instead of overalls, lipstick instead of chapstick, and her hair was a mass of curls around her face like a tigress ready to pounce on the next willing male. He couldn't say he favoured her new look, but he found himself searching for the cause behind it. Goku? Maybe another specific male? Nonetheless, it perturbed him somehow.

During class, he saw the two talking animately about one thing or another. He knew it wasn't him because she didn't glance back at him once during the entire class.

He focused on Goku instead, trying to think of how to get the champion interested in a revenge-based battle. The only access point was Bulma, but how would he attract her? Other than brute force or a charade of charm, she only favoured intellect. Well, that's simple to Vegeta since he was just as mentally sharpened as he was for battle. However, he needed to catch her attention, not just her trepidation..

After the bell rang, he immediately got his things and waited for her to leave the classroom outside the door. Once he caught the wisp of her enticing fragrances, he grabbed her and literally pulled her to the corner of the lockers into a supply closet he had found a few days before.

"Hello", He grinned at her as her eyes regarded him widely.

"V-Vegeta-"

The malicious grin faded. "Yes, I know my name. I have a proposition for you, much to my own dismay to have to deal with such a suffering female."

Her eyebrows knitted together as she tilted her head in complete confusion. She opened her mouth after the spark of offense flashed through her cerulean orbs, but he stopped her.

"Bulma, listen."

Hearing her name, she finally stopped shaking and knelt stiffly on the floor, watching him.

"I need to be.. tutored."

She stared up at him, dazed. "Tutored?"

"Yes. I am failing Geometry."

"B-But... You just started!"

"Hush! They carried over my grades from Eastside District okay?! Kami.. "

"Okay," She started smirking, her eyes flashing with an aquamarine challenge,"And just what the hell do I get?"

He eyes her warily, "Heh.. We'll discuss that after-"

"Um, how about NO?! I would like to know now what I'm going to get for having to teach you basic bitch skills!"

Vegeta growled, "Alright! What is it... You want?"

He asked it in such a husky voice that she once again felt her insides curl, "I don't know... There isn't much someone like you has that I don't or would even want, but I guess you know a lot more people here than I do, which is pretty sad seeing as you're new and I'm practically famous-"

"I would have liked to hear your damn request yesterday, woman."

She narrowed her eyes before a wave of realization dawned on her, her eyebrows shooting up as her eyes exploded with excitement. "Yes! I know what I want now that I haven't had yet."

Raising a thick eyebrow, he cooly regarded her with heated exasperation, "What."

"I want to go on a date."

He facefaulted, "A date?"

She nodded, "Yes, I want to date someone because I've never gotten to and it's not fair."

"And why is it not fair?" Vegeta smirked as he faux-pouted.

"Because! I am.. hot, and smart, and a total catch! Nevermind, I don't even want to talk about this with you.. So when do you want to meet?"

He turned to face her completely, the distance between them suddenly minimized. "And what makes you think I would ever associate myself with the likes on you beyond the practicality of improving my geometric skills?"

Then it was her turn to facefault. "I would NEVER even consider you as a candidate for MY date on anyday, you presumptuous jerk!"

Smirking, he replied with a smooth "Then who?"

She froze, not prepared for the question or his lack of response to her rejection. "Oh... Well I guess I like that Yamcha guy. He's _really _cute."

Vegeta rolled his eyes, having witnessed the gigantic joke of a loser that guy was. He had the brain cells of a pigeon and somehow had a hold on this beauty? He snarled.

"Sure. Whatever, I'll talk to him for you. But my grades dictate my advancement and progression in martial arts. It isn't negotiable for me."

"Fine! Yes, I will agree to do this only if you swear it isn't a waste of my time. I have my own mountains of homework to do myself, you know." She declared sternly, her finger waving in front of Vegeta's chest. He regarded it with a sly expression as she turned to leave the small closet, the temperature climbing a little high between the two of them.

"I can't say your side of the bargain is worthy of... anything, really. However, I can attest that your efforts are very much worth the conquest."

She looked back at him, her wide cerulean eyes full of inquiring apprehension still but tweaked by their little exchange before she opened the door and swiftly exited.

* * *

In her next quarter of the day in class, she could barely focus on anything. She almost didn't turn her homework in! Unable to put a finger on what was weirding her out about all of this, she just let the butterflies take over her midsection until she whiked home. Her light blue eyes darted around every corner, hoping not to run into him until she could sort out her frantic thoughts. Seeing him in his intimidating prowl over her, it would be too-

"Ah, and here you are. I was wondering if you chickened out," He mewled in his sardonic tone, her chest heaving slightly from her misfortune. Then she remembered something.

"Um.. You never made a time with me to meet, sir."

His black eyebrows rose in mock surprise, "Ah.. Talking to me properly now, I see. Well Mister Bulma, I just might've thought you'd rush home to avoid me today. I'm sure you're overthinking bundles over this."

Her face contorted into rage, not knowing what to answer first. Her head seemed to spontaneously implode and all she could muster was a growling, "I... am not a mister!"

"Heh.. Fair enough. But I'm not going to say 'Miss'."

She began to smirk, leaning back. "You just did."

Rolling his eyes, he looked away.

A silence came upon them, Bulma looking at his face while his vitriolic gaze was averted. He had very dark features, an olive skin tone, and the most ridiculously exaggerated widow's peak she had every seen before.. Her eyes dropped to his arms, which were generously built, and something she had NEVER caught herself gape at before... His ass!

It was perfect.

"-.. Earth to woman."

Her eyes snapped up and she realized she had been holding her breath. He raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Are you truly that intimidated by me?" He faced her squarely, folding his arms with slight pride.

She looked away for a second, glaring at him for catching her. "Look, do you want to study or not?"

He chuckled darkly. "Not today. I only wanted to get your information."

"Um.. What information would that be?"

His face cleared of all humor, realizing he'd have to vocalize it. Praying she didn't react as he predicted, he simply said it. "I require your phone number to complete our objective."

Her eyes lowered. Was that a pick-up line? Seriously? "That... was so horrible it was amazing."

Scoffing, he still asked, "What?!"

"That pick-up line!"

"Either quit your blabbering or forget your ridiculous date. You know better, you silly wench."

She twisted her face to sneer at him for a second, then took his phone and entered in her number. She felt strange doing it, but the way he asked for it she would probably never forget.

"Alright. Later."

He stalked away from her then. She felt like she had done something wrong for a second, but then shook it off.. She had her own shit to do.

* * *

Yes, he left abruptly for a reason. Too many in fact. He felt ready to combust, not knowing it was going to turn into this. He knew that it was a mistake as soon as he saw her outfit this morning. He HAD to have known an alluring, pheromonal fragrance would accompany it.

It was when she was entering her number into his phone after that utmost asinine suggestion she'd had.. She was leaning forward a little to see the screen, and swirls of a warm, musky vanilla came off of her into the sudden breeze that blew by, as if it knew it would tantalize him. Then she handed her phone to him and it was over.

He rolled his eyes. He wasn't THAT deprived.. And he hadn't been that sexual to begin with. At least not with anyone too intensely before. It didn't matter- Bulma was not to be even perceived in that way. No fucking way.

Throughout the night, as he trained harder than ever to push the entire encounter out of his mind, he suddenly recalled when he thought she was extremely intimidated.. Her eyes were cast down to something, and she was fixated. Those aquatic orbs were simply transfixed on something and it wasn't too far away even though her expression was. It seemed really close to him, actually.

Or.. Maybe it was him.

His eyebrows knitted as he instantly halted his crunches, mid-crunch of course. He felt his multiple set of abdominals contract as it hit him: she was eye-fucking him. Like she never had before.

She had lost her eye-fuck virginity all the fuck over him.

Feeling his southern regions harden, he stood up with a murderous look of ice cold rage at everything. "That's it! I am going home."

* * *

Hah! What'd you guys think? Is it a little clearer where I am going with this?

No? Yeah, me neither.

Soooooo update will be sooner if I get some love! Thanks for reading, everyone!

[:

~Nicolesque


	4. Growing Distractions

And so it began. The next day at Orange Star High School was a long one as Bulma could hardly focus on her studies, let alone carry out a single conversation with Goku without staring off into a foggy distance where her anxieties about this peculiar new tutoree of hers curled itself up into her train of thought. It was something so new and abrupt in her life, and although she was already a Junior at OS, she couldn't help but feel so overwhelmed by what their first session would be like. She couldn't even prepare or research for it, like everything else in her black and white science-oriented life.

Perhaps because it would be the first time ever that she would be alone with a boy she barely knew.

Goku had always been her friend from day one. She was aware of his building status in the Martial Arts Tournaments, becoming the very top fighter in her district. He had always been a little different from her because he was well-liked and almost like a celebrity in a sense. But that never seemed to affect him, or even occur to him. Not much did, which was why she assumed he liked her around because she always had to point out the obvious to him in certain situations. Such as the fact that he couldn't bring himself to approach ChiChi without something stuttering mumble that turned into some excitement over food.

So they had always been platonic, always would be. There had never even been one of those cliche moments between the two as they both entered high school and their bodies were changing hormonally that they would even question their friendship STAYING friendship. Besides, Bulma had always wanted a date with a guy who she could SEE herself with. Someone nice... Handsome.. Kind enough to open the door, pay for the meal, and ask politely if he could kiss her at the end of the-

SMACK! A ball of paper collided with her pristinely placed bun she had worked on for at LEAST twenty minutes that morning. She turned to face the perpetrator with a deadening glare, but found stoic eyes staring back at her with the same lack of amusement.

Then the bell rang.

She only had Vegeta in two out of her five classes. History, which she also had Goku to accompany as well as shield her from the flying paper balls of doom, and this one which was Chemistry. It was such an apt class to share with Vegeta all on her own because they didn't seem to have ANY, which was a detail of their arrangement that she acknowledged with gratitude.

He walked up to her, blocking the entire stairway for people to get through as she got her stuff. Many of the disgruntled students sent the nonchalant flame-haired fighter a dirty look and shoved around him or jumped over the other desks. When she gathered her things, she facefaulted at him with a thin blue eyebrow slanting with skepticism.

"Really? First the waste of trees aimed at my hair, and now you're impeding the entire class from leaving? Wow, look out Orange Star High- we have a badass on our hands!" Bulma fake-enthused before her expression faltered and she turned to leave, not seeing the gigantic smirk on his face.

"Well, if you're done making a mockery of yourself with such a poor sense of sarcasm, I thought now would be a good time to schedule this tutoring of yours."

"Oh, really? Well I thought it would be a good time to get to my next class seeing as I only have five minutes would only be wasted and against my tardiness if I sit here and enlighten you. Just text me, Vegeta, what's wrong with-"

"If you would shut up, it would be quicker!" He snapped before returning the smirk to her stunned face. "Tonight at 6. My place, or yours?"

She closed her eyes and mentally meditated to keep from breaking her fist in an attempt to punch his lights out. In a sigh, she replied, "Mine. You're damn lucky my parents are out of town for some week-long convention."

"Perfect," He growled smugly, and just before walking away he added, "Oh, and I bet you've heard that before, Bulma."

* * *

Infuriated, she stomped her foot as she watched him stalk off away from her. Tonight was truly going to suck.

5:55 P.M. the clock screamed at her. All her free time she'd had after she got home from school was completely running dry. She had just barely gotten her own load of homework done, how on EARTH would she assist him with his on the amount of fuel she had left? Especially if he was just going to smartass her all the time. Shaking her head, she glanced at the clock again and it decided to laugh instead of scream this time.

5:57 P.M.

She slumped her shoulders and decided to do her calming down method of indulging in a couple spoonfuls of her favourite ice cream. This week's flavour was Banana Split. As she let the chilled cherry bits and crunchy pecans roll over her revelling taste buds, she failed to keep watch of the mocking clock, which read without her knowledge: 6:00 P.M.

RRRIIIINGGGG

She nearly leapt off of her big blue couch in her living room to hastily slam the lid back on the tub of ice cream and practically throw it into the freezer. Then she went to the toaster of all things to check if any pecan had gotten stuck in her teeth or sticky sweet cream vanilla was smeared on her face. Pulling and tugging on her favourite pair of loose sweats and her purple tank, she sauntered to the door, heart pounding as if it was about to projectile explode from her mouth and all over his face as she opened the door.

'Okay... That was a nice image, Bulma. Why all the fuss, this guy doesn't care what I look like? It's just some dude who can't do homework, not a rare commodity. After all, he probably looks like the same jackass he always is-'

And he did. Except without his jacket, he had those exceptionally built arms and shoulders exposed where his wifebeater didn't cover them. She struggled to keep her eyes connected with his and her heart from reaching her throat, mostly to prevent that wild visual she found herself having before she opened the door.

Silence ensued between the two for an awkward second before she wordlessly held out a stiff arm and stepped back, letting him in. He kept his calculating gaze on her the entire time, all slow four steps he took before he was standing next to her. She stood there, watching him watch her, with the door open. Vegeta glanced back at it, a spark of intrigue flashing through his obsidian orbs at it.

"My, what a warm welcome." His voice coated itself with a thick sarcasm as she immediately glared at him from underneath her brows and shut the door.

"Would you like a drink? Maybe a glass of water o-or..."

"Or what, champagne? This is merely a tutoring session, girl. I don't understand the anxiety."

"Water it is, then!" She angrily exclaimed, heading off to the kitchen before he could say anything else. But, of course, he followed her.

And proceeded to investigate her toaster.

She turned with the jug of water and glass in hand, halting in her tracks at the sight of the muscular Vegeta bent over and staring into her toaster as she had done merely moments prior.

"Um..?" Was the only thing she could vocalize. It kept hitting her that she was alone with this boy, and she didn't know this boy, and he WAS a boy.

He looked back at her, as if surprised at first, then shrugged. "Oh, it's nothing."

She gave him another puzzled look with an eyebrow raised, "Nothing? You're eye-fucking my toaster!"

Growling mentally at her insanely coincidental use of that phrase, he allowed a smug grin to raise the corner of his lips. "First, I'M not the one guilty of such a thing, and second, I have concluded your toasting device has no sign of malfunction so your only reason for inspecting your reflection in it for five minutes when I first rang the door was to check your appearance."

She gasped before blurting out, "It was NOT for five minutes!"

A smirk of success filled his expression.

"Okay. Fine. Yeah I just... Didn't want ice cream on my face..." She mumbled, looking away with a hard blush.

"You what? Creamed on your face? I don't believe I heard that quite well-"

"And why are you staring at me through my kitchen window anyway?!" She interrupted his newest sex joke.

That's when he stepped toward her, taking her by the arm and leading her to him in an abrupt manner that was still as gentle as ever. As it was slowly but surely occuring to her that this was first boy that had ever had physical contact with her besides Goku, he wrapped a thickly built arm around her shoulder so that they both were facing the window from where the toaster was, and he held up her wrist to make her fingers point in its general direction with his face ever so close to hers.

"It isn't hard to see through a window when it's that close, now is it..?" His cruel whisper sang past her ear and the small wisps of cerulean strands that strayed from her long mane. As he took his hand away, he casually let it sway through it. He definitely had some weird thing with her hair.

She let out a breath that she wasn't aware she was holding, "Fine, you got me. Can we just study now?"

He noted her irritation with slight amusement before it dawned on him. "This... Is your first encounter with a member of the male species besides that idiot fighter 'Goku' isn't it?"

Wide blue eyes snapped to his. His snide, piercing look of satisfaction grew deeper, like a cat that just caught the mouse. He stalked closer to her, as if cornering his prey. He literally was, in fact, making her back all the way up to the sink with an animalistic prowl.

"And I'm willing to bet, Bulma... This is the first time you've ever been touched. Am I right?"

She found herself reaching behind her and finding exactly what she was hoping for. Pulling the sink hose from behind her, she held back the trigger and doused Vegeta with cold tap water for a couple seconds. Maybe an extra one to be safe as he instantly backed away from her in a backwards jump that most guys would have fallen on their ass from.

He looked at her, bewildered. Was she TRYING to get his shirt off? Then he saw the determined fire in her blue eyes. She definitely wasn't coming onto him.

Walking past him, she held up a bent pointer finger with a pleasant expression aimed forward. "Study time. Let's go! But first, we'll get you a towel. I wouldn't want you to mess up my bed or have to take off your shirt. Me being such a prude and all."

Staring after her as she went up the stairs, he shook his head slowly. This was going to be a long study session...

* * *

...And it was. At first he had kept his composure, simply listening as she mindlessly droned on through the entire first chapter of The World of Chemistry. A few times, he strained his expression to look a little confused so as to play the part, keeping in his mind the entire reason for his being there. This would not play well if he wasn't convincing, but he couldn't ignore the fact that he was above such trivial dissecting of a ludicrous amount of numbers. Still, he had to supress his agitation until finally released a growling sigh two hours into it.

Her head perked up, her attention finally resuming back to him out of the trance she had been in.

"What? I was yawning." He said defensively. She raised a skeptical eyebrow; a twerk of hers, he noted. And an annoying one.

"No, you were sighing!" She exasperated as she changed positions into Indian-style sitting. They both were on her bed, her white cloth towel still wrapped around his vein-bulging neck. She made sure to predominantly keep her eyes on the text so as not to be TOO distracted by the testosterone oozing off of his masculine physique. It had absolutely NOTHING to do with his horrendous attitude or his gigantic ego. He just had... gigantic muscles that she had never seen before, nor had in such very close proximity.

They were probably bigger than Goku's, she mentally guessed.

"And?" He asked, not noticing the glaze that fell over her eyes as she tried to avoid looking straight at him. She rolled her eyes, nonetheless.

"Well if you're frustrated, that means you're not getting it. If you're not getting it, then perhaps you should tell me which would be the entire purpose of what we're doing here. Right?" She asked sarcastically.

His eyes narrowed. But definitely not for the reason she thought they did.

She leaned back with eyebrows burrowed in an inquisitive glare, "Um? Are you here for other reasons, Vegeta?"

He leaned back as well, his back resting against her headboard as she was on the opposite end of the bed, facing him with an insulted flare in her aquamarine orbs. "Do you want me to be?"

The way he retorted the obviously rhetorical question threw her off completely, his voice was so low and stoic. It was enough of a purr to make her suggest that he WAS there with an ulterior motive, i.e. violate her space in some predictably perverted way, but stoic enough that gave off the impression that he didn't really care what she though. And the question was forward enough to mystify her completely. In a daze, she looked away.

"I think we're done here-" She started to get off the bed, but Vegeta cut off her sentence.

"Oh? It was just getting to the good part," His lips widened and showed off conspicuously sharp canines. They glinted in her bedroom light, mocking her with their intimidation.

"Vegeta, it's almost 8:30," She whined, gathering her Chemistry materials and placing them in her backpack. "I really need to sleep soo-"

As she placed a soft, petal-like hand on the book she felt a coarse touch brush against her fingers in unison. Her eyes snapped at the contact to his, gazing right back at her with a wicked flash of amusement.

Vegeta was handing a book to her.

She swallowed, not particularly a fan of the way her body suffered electric tingles sparking down her spine at the way his fingers whispered from underneath her hand as she grabbed it from the other.

"You never answered my question." Vegeta declared in a suggestive purr from the corner of her bed.

After heaving her less than light backpack into the corner of her bedroom, she regarded him with a catlike scowl before slowly approaching him until there was less than a few inches between their noses. She had no idea what she was doing or even WHY her body was compelling her to be so direct, but after a couple tantalizing moments of locked, heated gazes, she decided to end the suspense.

"I want me to be asleep... Vegeta."

He nodded, completely ignoring both the very hormonal impulse to catch her lips with his and the sharp pierce in his ego at her subtle dismissal. Still, he wasn't looking for this, right? If something had happened, it would have been extracurricular. Just a technicality. But it didn't, and he still had his end goal in mind. THAT was all that mattered.

He nodded, and got up from the bed, away from those blue eyes hazy with something he couldn't even recognize. Fear? Curiosity?

Attraction?

"For the record, Bulma..." He started, his back to her. She felt her breath catch slightly in anticipation. When his eyes reached hers in a sideways glance full of a clouded, mysterious emotion, she felt a chill run through her. "I'm not here for anything other than what we have originally arranged."

She felt herself nod numbly before he left the room and saw his way out, feeling a little stupid for even vocalizing her doubts. But she barely knew him! And the way he had responded to her the entire time seemed to scream the contrary to what he had just said to her. Still, she felt bad for coming off angry. If anything, she was only angry at herself.

Because the truth was: she wouldn't have minded it.

* * *

Hey guys sorry its been so long! Put some extra hot stuff on this chapter's taco for all of you who reviewed or favourited. THANKsABUNCH! I write for each and every one of you. :]

Maybe one of these days, over 100! (Or 9000 if you're Vegeta]

Have a good rest of your weekend, leave me reviews and kisses and favourites and followers and candy so I can make next chapter's taco with just as much if not more hot sauce :]

.::Nicolesque::.


	5. Anti-Hero

Hey everyone! Thanks for all my reviews and followers, especially to Cornichon, GottaGetM3SumPie, and smalsa! This one's a little longer thanks to them, and I'd like to address something brought to my attention. The first chapter is a Prologue, an excerpt from a future chapter. It's meant to be a little ambiguous but I hope it's not too confusing. Now that Vegeta's intentions are revealed and a deal has been set, I hope you guys can kinda see where it's headed. And if not, stay tuned!

The second chapter on is really the first, where the story actually starts... So yeah.

And as far as the rating goes, I might actually leave this one at T just because I really haven't done that with any of my stories yet. Since this is a high school fic, I don't feel it's really appropriate or even necessary to get all lemony fresh. It will get risqué later to say the least, though and I hope I won't disappoint in that department. :)

So without further ado guys...

* * *

The next day after their first 'session', Bulma knew she was changed forever. Even getting dressed was a challenge because she always had a faint background prick of self-consciousness about what he would think about it. She imagined the look on his face when he would look over at her one day. Then perhaps how soft his hands would be when they would finally take hers inside of them... Then she'd shake her head, not even sure it would even happen and feeling slightly over-confident about her chances with him.

Because everyone knew Yamcha went for all the pretty, popular girls.

Sighing, she settled for a regular pair of khaki shorts and a navy blue tank top. It was only technically day two of their agreement, and she couldn't quite over-achieve with miniskirts as of yet. Besides, it was only Wednesday, and she liked to save her better outfits for Fridays. Even if she knew the entire time she wouldn't be going anywhere after school anyway.

As she was walking to school, her thoughts were as overactive as ever. Whether she had finished her Chemistry homework before came over, whether she put on the right pair of panties for her outfit that day (she had a superstition about underwear, a family trend), and whether Goku would get out of his funk soon and walk with her to school again.

Unfortunately, as she was pushed into a mud-filled puddle right before class, she sure wished he had.

A storm of laughter erupted over the small crowd that was witness to the two most popular blondes on campus sending Bulma to her shorts' muddy fate. Their names were Launch and 18, both of them best friends that had conquered the attention of almost every blonde-loving male in school since Bulma could remember. She had always been on the top of their shit list, even though she hardly spoke to them except for the quaint correction during classroom debates, which were promptly punished by stunts like this one.

"Wow Bulma! Nice trousers, new clearance item in the Men's department?" Launch quipped in mock appraisal as Bulma struggled to get up. Her knees trembled as she felt the dirty water seep into the newly formed cuts and bruises on them. Launch stared down at her with her own ominous smirk of deviance.

"Yeah you really pull off gender ambiguity. Maybe since you're such a scientist, you can just turn yourself into a man!" 18 added, sending ripples of laughter through the watching crowd.

There were more evil snickers among various individuals, Bulma's eyes stinging with oncoming tears of humiliation. What she hated the most was how swollen her throat was from trying not to cry, how it ultimately impeded any quick remark she might've had otherwise.

"Leave her alone."

The monotone voice that somehow floated over the forming crowd belong to no other than Vegeta. Not even daring to let his eyes drop to hers, he kept his apathetic stare on the two bullies.

"And who are you? The new kid who's going to save the day now?" Launch asked in a bored purr, a blonde eyebrow arched.

18 echoed her, "Yeah, don't you need a cape?"

"Not as much as you need a reality check. Just because you possess the brain cell equivalent of a pencil doesn't mean the rest of us have to suffer your misery."

Launch's face tweaked with a pinch of annoyance. This guy actually believed he was going to insult them?! She started to stride over to him in her casual prowl of the utmost confidence; Launch knew how to trap a man with body language alone. Her lips lifted at both corners like a snide cat ready to pounce on her next meal.

"Actually it does. See, we are physically superior to Miss Nerd over here. And you would do quite well if you would take a second to notice it.." Her eyelashes fluttered slightly, only deepening Vegeta's scowl of disgust. He shoved past her, almost knocking her over as if she wasn't even there. In a second, he was standing in front of Bulma with a strong hand outreached to her gaping blue eyes that could hardly process what she was seeing through the flurry of tears. She had barely taken his hand when he instantly brought her up to her feet.

She could hardly maintain her blush. Vegeta was not only intervening with one of the hardest parts of her daily life... But he was _strong_, too.

Almost... Too strong.

Before she could utter a syllable of gratitude, Vegeta turned to the girls with a simple, "By the way, for your dimwitted information, she dresses like a scientist. Something it doesn't take to see how mentally inferior you two truly are."

With that, he sauntered off to class as the bell rang almost on cue, leaving Bulma blinking within the passing crowd of students.

* * *

Yes, he hated his display of mistaken heroism in the courtyard. Yes, he hoped to hell that she didn't take it as some grand gesture of any kind of interest beyond their agreement. Yes, he knew everyone and their cousin was talking about it.

But no, he couldn't just stand by and watch it happen.

There was something unfamiliar that occurred inside him when she had turned her head, knees still sunken in a deep patch of mud, tiny droplets of black staining her porcelain face and blue shirt, her curiously unraveled mane of curls glimmering in the blossoming morning sunlight. But everything had turned to black and white after that, after seeing her eyes reach for his.

Yes, it was those huge, cerulean eyes that were misted over with some sort of helpless desperation that he had never before seen. Never had any of his opponents had a flash of anything but just cold fear and intimidation, possibly their lives flashing before them. Nonetheless, it was a moment he was ill-prepared for, and even less he was prepared for the impulse that ran through his chest all the way to his betraying mouth.

It was almost time for Chemistry class. Though the event had taken place a mere two periods ago, he still found himself replaying in his mind with a shallow blanket of apprehension coating his chest. Why did it freak him out so much that he had helped her?

Because he didn't help_ anybody_. He helped himself, and that was it. He had no parents to depend on, no siblings to care for, and definitely no emotional attachment to constantly nourish or compromise his own desires for. And he didn't WANT any of that. So why didn't he just leave her alone except for getting to Goku? He simply told himself it was for the best, that he would gain her trust in case Goku tried to convince her otherwise.

Then the bell exploded through his thoughts. He gathered his things as more ripples of anxiety ran through him, each one deepening his hatred for this new predicament. How dare she pose as some victim in front of him, beguilling him like that! She knew exactly what she was doing, and he wouldn't have it. He decided as he thunderously strode through the halls of Orange Star High that he was going to end this tirade of emotional bullshit once and for all before it even started.

He waited for her, leaning on the locker closest to the classroom door. She hadn't shown. Even when the tardy bell rang out, nothing. He checked his phone for any kind of warning text about her absence. Nothing. His eyes snapped back and forth using his unique spectrum of peripheral vision for any sign of her approaching form.

Nothing.

He rolled his eyes. Of course she wouldn't show when he actually wanted her to. Of course it was also the one class he was requesting her assistance with, and even if it was under false pretenses, he still didn't like the idea of her flaking out on those pretenses.

He took off from the locker, deciding to give the halls a stroll. Catching the hall monitor out of the corner of his eye, Vegeta quickly ducked into the nearest bathroom he could find.

Unfortunately, it was the girl's bathroom.

Instantly knowing he made a mistake when there was a conspicuous absence of urinals, a soft whimper echoed through the turquoise walls of the bathroom. It was a morose sound, full of sadness and misery. Someone was crying in the last stall. He absolutely despised its sound. Turning to leave, the whimper turned into a voice.

"Hello?" Came a bell-tone croak. It was her.

It was Bulma.

He stopped instantly, instinctively swallowing. Now that he had her, in a very unplanned location, he had no idea what to even say. So he said nothing, and the stall at the very end opened to reveal an eyeliner-streaked face with bloodshot aquamarine eyes flashing beneath all the black. She gasped, not even thinking about how she looked.

"Vegeta! This is a-"

"YES!" He hissed, raising a hand to halt her obvious accusation. "It is, in fact, a girl's bathroom. However.. there is a monitor just around the corner, so could you PLEASE help by shutting up?!"

She shrunk back a little, feeling freshly vulnerable to Vegeta's sharp words. "Sorry," she said, suddenly sullen as she turned her gaze away from him and to the floor.

Once again, that deep pit of something nauseating dropped in his stomach as he saw her once again fall into that same helplessness that had caused him to switch in the first place. He didn't like it, nor did he like his disposition, but he rolled his eyes and said what he had to anyway.

"What's.. What's _the matter_?" The last word came out unnaturally, and she gave him a strange look at the sound of it. She had stopped crying, and took her eyes away again as she replied.

"I just.. I have a presentation today. Specifically requested by Mr. Kanasha.. And I have these disgusting shorts on still!" She screeched in angry embarrassment, her face twisting with shame again.

He said nothing as she waited for a response from him, her eyes flickering back and forth between his stoic face and the floor.

Finally, after about a few minutes, she gave in. "What..? Are you going to say anything?"

He didn't. He just took off his abnormally large backpack, setting it on the floor before unzipping it to pull out a pair of black unisex sweatpants. She simply watched as he took them out, his eyes piercing into hers as he stood up straight and held them out.

Her mouth gaped open at what was apparently being offered to her. She wiped at her face, suddenly feeling conscious about what was probably black pools drowning her pale cheeks. Before she could take them, he pulled them back to his chest with a smirk.

"This isn't just some free offer, girl. You got that this morning. I am going to remember this little favor when it comes time for me to get my own from you..." He warned slyly. Bulma was so devastated by her current situation, she didn't even care if it indebted her to Vegeta of all people. Her face livened back up into an amused glare before she snatched the pants from him.

"You do NOT get to watch," She declared with a pointed finger. Vegeta folded his arms and facefaulted, unamused.

"No, nor would I want to you conceited wench. I will have my request by the end of the day."

She shrugged lightly, "Fine. Now let me change, I have a presentation to do if I'm not too tardy as it is."

* * *

It was absolutely bizarre wearing Vegeta's gym pants. They were a little loose on her, and extremely baggy in the legs, but she didn't seem to mind. Inside, she was rejoicing the fact that she didn't have to face her Chemistry peers with mud-stained khakis looking unprofessional and victimized. By the time the class had started, there were already waves of whispers about the morning incident involving her and Vegeta. She was already preparing herself for the rumors to circulate the next day about them being involved.

She stayed a little longer after class and got her things together as everyone left, once again lost in the flurry of thoughts in her head, and was about to head out the door before she heard someone clear their throat loudly. Knowing exactly who it was, she clenched her eyes shut at first before turning to face him.

"Yes?" She asked in a mock pristine voice. He walked toward her, his eyes flashing with some kind of agenda.

"Yes. I have conjured a favor."

She raised a slim, blue eyebrow. "Oh really? Tutoring you as you don't listen and then storm out in a fit of confusion isn't enough for two favors for me?"

He ignored her comment, smirking. "There's a party on Friday night."

Blinking, she simply shrugged a shoulder. "So..?"

"So you will accompany me, idiot," Vegeta snapped.

Not appreciating the insult, she glowered at him. "I will do NO such thing, Vegeta!"

With that, she tried to turn and leave, but had to stop when she heard, "You know the rumors will run through the school by first period tomorrow."

"Oh...? And your big solution is to go to a party together, where the entire school will be," She said with a side-glare.

He nodded curtly.

"Together."

He nodded again.

"As in, a couple."

He rolled his eyes and approached her, "No, you absurd girl.. We will not be a couple in our own rite, however, we might as well get a step ahead of the sheep and just call it a day. Perhaps... they might even fuck off of you for a while."

She sighed, her eyes shutting fiercely with exasperation. "Okay... Whose house is it at, anyway?"

"That foolish broad with the numeric name."

Her eyes snapped open as wide as the sun, "18's house?! YOU want ME to go to HER party?"

"Oh, please. There won't be any puddles of dirt to push you into, and you're forgetting I will be your company-"

"No, I think YOU are forgetting who I am at this school! I am not... one of those pretty, blonde girls that get every guy and have every friend here. I'm an outcast, Vegeta. I won't fit in there.," She finished with a sullen frown before adding, "Not even with you."

Bulma left the classroom swiftly to avoid him trying to say anything else, leaving Vegeta in the empty classroom to try not to watch her walk away in his favourite sweatpants.

She was so very close to accepting his invite to that party, and even though the idea of being in the same vicinity as that cold-hearted ego-queen 18 sent her flying into all kinds of apprehension, Bulma found herself staring in the mirror of her downstairs bathroom with doubts that she had made the right choice. She couldn't really pinpoint Vegeta's intentions in taking her to that party, why he would even care what people would say or do to her, but still..

She couldn't shake off the feeling like she was about to miss out on something, yet again.

Next thing she knew, there were friendly knocks on the door. She could tell just from the rhythm of the knocks who it was.

"GOKU!" She exclaimed after swinging her front door open.

He took her in for a big hug, surprising her. Goku was always her sweetest and most innocent friend, her ONLY friend at that, but they only hugged every so often. And this felt... different, somehow.

"Hey. Sorry for uh, getting all distant like that on you," He said when they let go. Taking a seat on Bulma's big red couch in her living room, he had a much more optimistic demeanor as his brown eyes regarded her softly. She couldn't help but feel strange suddenly as she sat on the couch adjacent to the one Goku was on.

"So... Um, why did you, anyway?" She asked suddenly, not sure what else to say. Their usual, automatic small talk had been interrupted by the sudden lapse in their friendship, and after the last couple days with Vegeta, she felt utterly confused by absolutely everything she encountered now.

Goku leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. He always did this when he was about to be serious about something, which was also seldom. Bulma felt that same apprehension bug crawl right back up her spine seeing him do this.

Because the only time he had ever done this, was when his adoptive Grandfather died.

"Bulma. I heard about what happened..." He started, pausing to look at her with a silver inquisition in his eyes. She stayed quiet, not sure what he was referring to. He continued, "I heard about Vegeta stepping in this morning when those girls were tormenting you again."

She immediately looked away, praying that the warmth in her cheeks weren't evident to her elusive best friend.

"Well, I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but I need to tell you why I was kinda distant this week."

Kami, she wished he would just get on with it. She had been so eager to catch up with him on everything BUT Vegeta. And it seems this was his sole reason for being here, she noted with a tinge of annoyance.

Goku reached an arm out to her, placing his hand on her arm. She almost flinched in response, but her eyes flew to his. Blue collidied with brown as she realized there was something deeply wrong here.

"Look, Vegeta is bad news. He may come off like he's a good guy, but I know why he's here. I don't know what's really up between the two of you, but you need to be really careful Bulma."

Her eyebrows burrowed in confusion, "What? Vegeta's just struggling in Chemistry, I'm his tutor. That's it."

Goku sat back a little, his eyes full of question as he took his hand away. "So, he's never mentioned me? Not once?"

Bulma looked away for a second, trying to remember all of their past squabbles and semi-conversations. "..No. He hasn't. I didn't even know he knew you, Goku."

"He doesn't," He sighed, "He does, however, have an intense interest in fighting me. And I can't have that, not before the Tournaments later this year and not in the confines of other people around. Not only would I be disqualified, but other people could get hurt."

"I don't understand, why would he want to fight you? You're a great guy, everyone likes you."

He shook his head ominously, "I don't know.. He has a vendetta for me, though, I can tell that much. But why he's accepting tutoring from you is what I'm really worried about."

She let out a laugh, "You sound paranoid as hell, Goku. Have you been smoking something this whole time away? He's never talked about you once, and he really is a good guy."

Goku's face blanched as he replied with a skeptical "Really."

"Yes! As you mentioned, he was totally calling out those bitches as they ruined my morning- AND my shorts. He even let me have a pair of his pants for my Chemistry presentation today."

He wisely kept his mouth shut. He was already too late, it seemed judging by the sparkle in her blue eyes as she exclaimed the dark newcomer's good deeds. She only had that sparkle when she was really into something.

This time she was the one to place an assuring, soft hand on his own to take him from his doomed thoughts, "He really helped me out today. I don't really know why, but he did and-"

"See, Bulma that's EXACTLY what I'm talking about!" Goku exploded as he stood up, her eyes widening as she looked up at him. She had never seen him this upset before, not even when his Grandpa died.

"What?! Because he actually cares enough to be there for me when YOU aren't? Maybe if you were there, he wouldn't have to be!" She snapped angrily. Goku simply shook his head, his fist clenching.

His voice returned to a calm, cool level. "No. Because he doesn't owe you anything. Why is he all of a sudden this hero to you? Why does he all of a sudden need help in Chemistry when he literally JUST got here?"

"You know what, I don't need to explain any of this to you. I don't have to. You are supposedly my best friend, my ONLY friend, and yet even after watching me be ridiculed for the last three or so years you've NEVER done what he did for me today."

A look of guilt passed through his features; he knew she was right.

She continued, tears glimmering within her cerulean orbs, "You've always just stood by and watched. You've never stood up for me when you knew damn well you had the power to."

"Alright, Bulma I'm sorry okay? I don't always know what to do in those situations because I always see ChiChi mixed in the crowd and I don't want to her to think I'm some brute-"

"No! Kami forbid she thinks you defending me means something more. Kami forbid your image gets torn up instead of me. I've just never been worth it to you, huh?"

Goku stepped over to her, his hands on her shoulders. "Bulma, don't say that! You know that isn't true. You're my best friend and I would do anything for you, you know that."

She stared at him with a sad skepticism, "Oh yeah? When there's the next party, are you going to take me? When I'm face down in the dirt, are you going to pick me up in front of everyone? Even though I'm the nerd and you're the popular martial arts King, would you risk being seen with me as more than just a friend?"

He blinked, not understanding where all of this was coming from. They had never had such a spirited conversation like this in all their years of being friends. "Come on, Bulma I-"

"Stop." She closed her eyes briefly, not wanting to hear his excuses or even be there in that pivotal moment of their relationship. "I need to know this one too. If I had nobody to be my first kiss... Would you?"

Time stopped as her question resonated in the back of his mind. "Would I.. what?"

Her breath caught in her throat as she stepped even closer, their faces merely inches apart as the electricity in the room heightened. "Would you kiss me.. Goku?"

"Bulma, I.." He breathed out in barely above a whisper, not even knowing what was going through his mind at the moment. Not even sure what he was doing anymore, he watched as if from the outside as their mouths floated closer and closer together. There was a mere millimeter between them, she closed her eyes and-

He just couldn't.

"No. No, Bulma I can't. I'm sorry."

She let out the breath she had been unconsciously holding, her shoulders sinking in disappointment as she looked away to hide her embarrassment.

He shook his head furiously, "Look you KNOW I have eyes for ChiChi. You know you and I have been friends a very long time. If somethere were to happen-"

"It would've happened by now," She finished in a sad, monotone voice with her arms folded. He looked over at her melancholic form, feeling a pang of guilt stab through him at how deflated she looked.

"Bulma, I'm sorry-" He tried to walk over and comfort her, but she held her hands up and stepped back, not even looking at him.

"Fuck it, Goku. Seriously. Friends, right? Well in that case, I'll just go to a party with someone else then. Someone who actually cares."

As she shoved past him to go open her front door, he stared at her in a horrified confusion, "Wait, what? You're going t-"

"Just go," She demanded in a small voice, not even believing she was having to do this to her best friend. He watched her face as she averted her melancholic gaze away from him.

Before he could bring himself to walk through the door, he simply whispered, "Bulma.. Be careful."

* * *

Wow I actually kinda like this length of chapter! Gets a lot done. Once again I hope you guys enjoyed this installment, perhaps enough to leave me some goodies for the weekend so I have an excuse to celebrate. I JUST started a new job but with enough feedback/motivation from ya'll I think I can pull off another long one next week even!

And if it's getting confusing at all, feel free to PM me if you'd rather not ask in a review. Yes I totally cliffhanger'd you guys kinda, but I more shall be revealed and questions answered. Can't wait to see what goes down at this party... Hehehehe.

As for Bulma's intentions/feelings for the whole 'kiss' thing with Goku... Don't jump, just read. That'll be answered next chapter! :]

Thanks again dear readers!

~Jckash03


	6. Dreams and Schemes

Hey everyone.. Here's your sooner installment of Conflict of Interest due to the overwhelming feedback I got over the weekend. I am so glad everyone's enjoying my high school depiction of these two, and I appreciate each and every review.

But... Alas, I do believe I must tease you guys with this one. Nonetheless, divulge!

The song lyrics used in this chapter that I definitely do not own are from "Sleepless" by Excision & Savvy, check it out if you like hypnotic dubstep trance and I definitely suggest playing it for this chapter if you can find it.

For the record, I also don't own Vegeta, Bulma, Goku, ChiChi, or DBZ even though it'd be awesome if I did.

* * *

He had only invited her to that ridiculous event because he knew it was something Goku would be attending. As the top competitor in the Martial Art Tournaments in their division, Goku was the most celebrated student at Orange Star High so he was bound to be present. After all, Vegeta was very familiar with the elevated social life and esteem that top fighters were held in, having been on the same pedestal once before.

_"Vegeta, your father and the rest of the Ouji district died with a belief in common: You are the best fighter they have ever seen, let alone represent them. You were held in the highest respect, the highest honour.. Never forget that, nor your mission to avenge your father and your stolen heritage."_

He hated it when voices from the past would echo in his head every time he held his own self-depricating gaze in the mirror. He hated those cold, disingenuous words that came out of that tyrant's mouth after what happened to not only his own father, but to his people. A part of him solely hated Goku just for that reason: He had what Vegeta so prematurely lost.

Pushing it from his mind, he collapsed to the floor and started his push-up reps. The only thing that seemed to take the past or Goku off of his mind was training. That, and...

Her.

He couldn't help but feel an outrage at her rejection to his offer. He was practically handing her an opportunity to change her disposition in that senselessly cruel school society, and she couldn't even see it, the alleged genius she was! But again... the only loss was his because it was just another way of getting Goku's attention. That was really the only reason he even thought of it, and added all of that anti-bullying bullshit at the end to see if she'd bite.

Well.. Forget it now. He honestly didn't know if he wanted to even continue this tirade with the girl. It was beginning to get risky with her and her feminine wiles tempting him all over the place, something he wasn't used to feeling quite as intensely as he was. Sure, it had been a while but his previous conquests weren't as alluring as her soft, saccharine scent that seemed to thickly musk as soon as he got close enough in proximity to her...

And those eyes, those eyes said it all when they would either mist with disbelief at his coming to her defense, or become hazy with a dizzying heat in them that made his blood venture south.

He growled loudly in a rage, violently pushing himself off the ground with veins pulsing through his arms and temples. Pacing back and forth in a straight line in his bedroom, he seethed at the fact that she was invoking way more than anything or anyone ever had before in his life. Even fighting in the arena in his district that remained no longer never pumped him up with so much... _feeling. _It was repulsive and nauseating the more he focused on it, but he couldn't seem to keep it away for longer than an hour.

Because when he did focus on it, letting it in for that one second made his agenda seem farther and farther. When he did see those cerulean orbs marvel at his impulsive rescue, it made him feel that same swell of pride as his people's wave of appraisal did once as well.

In a blind fit, he ripped his alarm clock and threw it at his lamp, ceasing both time and light so he could stop thinking and finally sleep in a restless slumber.

* * *

I'm sleepless..

You've got me wide awake

_As he approached the open doorway to her room, he couldn't help but trace the curvaceous outline of her turquoise mane. She seemed to have meticulously curled it into a mass of glistening ringlets that he couldn't take his gaze from as it traveled lower, down the slender confines of her lean back and to the inevitable curves of her ass that seemed to be exacerbated by the A-shaped, plaid skirt ending just below it.._

_Enough to send an electric thrill down the pit of his stomach to his nether regions, despite the acute apprehension surrounding it._

I'm dreaming,

My soul is yours to take

_"Well, well..," She started with a bell-tone voice thick with sarcasm as she turned to face him,"So glad you could make it for yet another Chemistry session, Vegeta."_

_Those eyes again, that luscious heat within her electric blue gaze driving him up the wall with a lust so profound that he could hardly keep himself from taking her right there against her bedroom wall... He hated it. Every minute of it. He hated it so much that it felt even more insurmountable. The tension in the room climbed purely from her giving him that look alone._

I'm haunted

When I look in your eyes

_He leaned sideways in the doorframe, a smirk appearing on his dark features. "And why would I miss such an enlightening occasion?"_

I want you

I want you tonight

_"Oh, I don't know..." She purred as she seemed to float closer to him, briefly looking away before those eyes pierced his once again in a lusty need for contact. "Perhaps you got distracted by something else."_

_His eyes narrowed at her as he responded in a gruff voice that sounded almost unfamiliar to him, "You would know a lot about that, wouldn't you?"_

_Those rosy, plump lips formed a smirk of their own, enticing him even more as his tongue reflexively ran over his canines, "Vegeta... Am I distracting you?"_

I'm sleepless

You got me wide awake

_"No," He scoffed, turning his back to her. He couldn't take it as it was, let alone allow her to think she had him. But when he felt her small, porcelain hands creep up his strong, tense back and crawl over his shoulders, he knew he was done for. As soon as her hand reached up the other side of his neck, almost trying to gravitate his face to hers, he felt himself swiftly spin and collide his mouth into her own. _

I'm dreamin'

My soul is yours to take...

_Their lips pressed firmly together, sending viral sensations spreading through his entire body. His hands forcefully grabbed her waist, pulling her to him in a grip purely dictated by the thunderous passion that he could no longer control. Ignoring all impulses to pull away and escape, his tongue dove into her mouth with an animalistic growl vibrating low in his throat that was met with her sultry gasp of surprise. They each fought for domination over the other, her hands tugging around his face and neck while his traveled up and down her body, exploring every dip in her tantalizing anatomy._

_Having to separate for air, his eyes flew to hers, each locked in the same sync of trepidating electricity. There was a physical magnetism between them, and no longer able to take it anymore, he pushed her against the nearest wall. _

I'm haunted

When I look in your eyes

_"Vegeta.." His name slipped from her tempting lips, swollen from the excessive stimulation of his own. He wanted to bite them, feel them between his sharp teeth as they trembled with a shaking surrender._

I want you...

_"I want you tonight."_

He instantly sat up from his slumber in a perspirating rush. His eyes snapped to where his alarm clock was supposed to be, then remembered his tantrum before he had laid to rest for the night.

So much for that, and now he had a suspicion he was late for school. He jumped out of bed to get to his phone, and he sure wished he hadn't.

There it was, her text from last night as she had been invading his nocturnal state:

"I want to go with you."

He would have crunched the phone into pieces as a surge of irritation passed through his half-asleep form, but then he noticed the time.

8:15. Yep, definitely late but thankfully he didn't have any time to contemplate what had just occurred in his unconscious.

* * *

She couldn't believe he wasn't there yet. Class had started an entire half hour ago! Where was he? And why hadn't he responded to her text? Her heart thumped with every passing minute, hoping to Kami he hadn't become extremely resentful after her storm-out, even when he had helped her by standing up for her and letting her wear his.. pants. As strange as that was. And shit! She had left them at home on her dresser!

The conversation she had already rehearsed and memorized in her swimming head kept playing itself over and over. She would wait until class ended to stall as everyone got their things, then wait until he inevitably passed her seat as he went down the platform stairs to the door, but she would grab his arm and those menacing black orbs would snap to hers with a flash of annoyance and then she would tell him right in front of Goku that she accepted his invitation.

Then he would either respond with a snarling comeback at her rejection the night before or a gigantic smirk would form and he'd nod his head in approval or say something equally sarcastic but with that little pinch of amusement in his eye that let her know he wasn't serious.

But nothing would happen if he didn't get here soon! A mass of butterflies released themselves in the pit of Bulma's stomach. It was Thursday but she had still opted to wear a skirt that day, a light pink one that she knew brought out her pale complexion. However, she knew it revealed a blush of embarrassment when she had taken her seat next to Goku for class that day. They had both sat leaning as far away from each other as possible, and the awkwardness set in.

Especially when Vegeta sauntered in, a deep scowl implanted on his face that made Bulma's breath catch in her throat. Was he THAT angry at her that he nearly missed class and came in looking like he was ready to kill someone?

She ultimately cursed the professor for placing her in the front row, where Vegeta's eyes seem to avoid completely. She watched his line of vision the entire time, and never once had it done its usual dip to her place in the row with a blatant taunting stare. Instead it was her eyes that never left him, even as he passed her row to get to his seat two rows behind her. When she realized what she was doing, she brought her head to the front, her aquamarine eyes withered with worry before catching Goku's conspicuous glance. Then they both looked down quickly, the tension quadrupling.

Of course, ten minutes later the bell rang and Bulma's plan went out the window within seconds, she bolted right up with her eyes set on Vegeta. His obsidian orbs unfortunately caught contact with hers, and froze as his eyes fogged over with an image:

_Those eyes again, that luscious heat within her electric blue gaze driving him up the wall with a lust so profound that he could hardly keep himself from taking her right there against her bedroom wall... He hated it. Every minute of it. He hated it so much that it felt even more insurmountable. The tension in the room climbed purely from her giving him that look alone._

"Vegeta!" She waved a hand up in the air, her eyes suddenly losing that dizzying lust and turning more into that dizzying sparkle they get when she's obnoxiously exhilarated by something.

Nonetheless, he couldn't do it. Facing her, even looking at her, was proving to be a mistake time after time. It was now turning into a liability for him. He somehow tore his eyes away, even as she waited for everyone to pass through and kept her eyes on him the entire time in a tireless anticipation. It made him sick. After waiting for literally a second, he ended up shoving past everyone and doling out some minor injuries in the process.

Her arm retreated slowly as the disbelief set in. Did he really just do that?

As she swallowed the sharp pain of his angry rejection, she heard a long sigh next to her. It was Goku. He had seen the whole thing, never leaving her side.

He hesitated as he brought a hand up to hesitantly hover in the air, wanting so bad to place it on her shoulder just for a moment if it would console her. "Bulma..-"

"Don't." She snapped harshly, feeling a wave of quiet rage drown out the initial melancholy. "Leave me alone.. I can do this on my own, Goku."

She rushed out of the classroom, heading straight to the bathroom and locking herself in the last stall. She did her normal routine that occurred every week after a bully taunt, hitting her back on the wall and fading down into a fetal position with a slow, dramatic decline like a dying leaf falling to the ground. Sobs always came first, and then a river of tears poured down her face. Instead of replaying the incident in her head as she did with bullying, she simply thought of all the things that would have come out of going to this party. Maybe 18 and Launch would have finally gotten off her ass for once.

She might have even made some friends.

Then she thought of Goku, her only friend now turned only former friend. She couldn't believe she lost everybody, and even though she always felt like she had the short end of the social stick due to her father being the wealthiest man in the city and her smarts combined with her looks, it sure looked like a hell of a lot more than she had now.

Now she had nothing.

She heard herself whimpering as she pushed out one sob after another without trying to make as much noise as she felt screaming inside of her. It sounded pathetic, but she knew it wouldn't bring Vegeta back in here this time. No, she was on her own now. And as she told Goku, she could do this on her own. She had no choice.

In that moment of independence and a swell to her ego as she coached herself in her head, Bulma came up with something. An idea. They still had an agreement which had never been cancelled or breached since he had said nothing to her to officiate ceasing it. And if they still had an agreement, then she had to get what was rightfully hers, and vice versa. The only problem was, she would have to have another session with him and he hadn't given her the next time he'd be there.

Well, she could always go to his house... But where did he live?

Ah, Bulma knew all the workers in the school office because her father had funded a good portion of the school's budget for the last three years. All she had to do was drop by and ask for a student's address for a Best Student Award nomination, a program that her father also participated in, and that she always won.

And then what?

She knew it would be considered stalking, but she had heard of girls dropping by unannounced, especially if they wanted to make some sort of move on a guy who was being evasive to their advances. Well, this wasn't the same situation and all she wanted to do was tell him something. If he really was that mad, the worst he could say is no and take back his invitation indefinitely. And it sounded crazy to her that she was even considering it, but she also wanted to apologize to Vegeta. She had never even had a chance to thank him in the first place.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, she headed for the door in a purposeful strode but before she could even reach for it, it swung open to allow Launch and 18 to burst in.

"Oh!" Launch mock-gasped and went straight to a mirror. 18 followed close behind her.

"Excuse us..." 18 purred sarcastically in her monotone voice. Bulma at first felt her chest cave with her conditioned appehension at running into these two, but when remembering her plan about 18's party, a smirk Vegeta would have been proud of formed uncharacteristally across her face. Launch looked up at her from the sink, 18 raising her eyebrow.

"No, excuse ME ladies when I crash your party! See ya!" Bulma exclaimed in a snide voice before vanishing from the bathroom, not hearing the uproar of laughter that followed her threat.

* * *

She didn't ever stop to understand exactly why she suddenly wanted to go so bad. Sure, she wanted revenge against her best friend for trying to get in her way without really holding up his side of the friendship, but now it felt a little more than that. There was a little extra amount of butterflies in her stomach when Vegeta walked into Chemistry that day, and when she imagined the look on his face when she showed up at his doorstep later.

When he would pick her up for that party...

Oh Kami, what would she WEAR to this thing anyway? She could hardly focus on the Chemistry lecture that was giving, between imagining how her stunt would play out later that day and feeling a hot sensation spreading through her the back of her neck. His inevitable glare was practically searing through her neck. But Bulma knew exactly how to play it this time. She had gotten enough dating advice from her mother (though she had yet to even be on one) and read enough advice columns in various teen magazines to know that the best way to get a guy's attention before going in for the kill was to ignore him.

Yes, of course this wasn't a DATING situation by ANY means. She didn't really mind if other people thought they were together if it meant she'd be less picked on and live life a little easier for a while, but she could never see herself taking Vegeta as a serious candidate for a relationship. He definitely wasn't your average flowers-and-cuddles kind of guy. More like handcuffs and whips, probably.

Bulma let out a snicker loud enough for the entire class to hear without realizing it until Mr. Kanasha and the rest of her row were looking at her. She shrunk back in her chair, vowing to never again think of Vegeta in that way. Why the hell would she anyway?

Saved by the ring of Orange Star's shrill bell, she gathered her things quickly and without a second look at Vegeta, left the classroom to go about her mission.

* * *

He certainly noticed the way she ran from the classroom when the bell let out, and that he hadn't even seen her walking home that day since they had an impass in between their walking routes where he usually bumped into her. She actually lived quite close to him now that he thought about it. But he stopped thinking about it and the girl's ludicrous behaviour. It was no longer his concern.

But never did he think that he'd be answering his doorbell to see those eyes again, and that tantalizingly short pink skirt she had donned to school. He had to swallow the deja vu with a hideous frown coating his face.

"Hi," She chirped quietly, but something about her seemed nervous. It was making HIM nervous. Why the hell was she here?

He couldn't hide his disdain in his velvet tone, "What the hell do you want?"

She flinched in response to his toxic expletive, "Look, I know you're mad but... Can I come in?"

His mouth remained tight as his eyes ventured around the periphery. Seeing no one, his eyes rested on her unamused. "I suppose. Or perhaps you don't belong here either."

Rolling her eyes at his subtle reference to her reason for rejecting his invitation, she walked into the small one-story house. It was very dim, she could hardly see her feet and it was only after 5. She stood near the door after he closed it, her arms in front of her with both hands clutching her bag. She felt chills run down her spine as his arm lightly brushed hers while passing her on his way to his kitchen. Time seemed to freeze as Vegeta quietly regarded her from behind a counter with a feline stare. She blinked and cleared her throat, wondering if she really annoyed him as much as he acted like she did.

"Are you going to offer me anything to dr-"

"Why are you here?"

His blunt interruption irritated her as her shoulders tensed up in response, "I texted you why I am here!"

He stood up, never taking his cold black eyes off of her until he turned away. "A simple phone call would have sufficed-"

"Oh yeah? Because I specifically recall trying to get your attention and getting nothing but a cold shoulder. I know you saw me, Vegeta!"

"Well, what about it then? The invitation's off," He snapped, folding his arms and looking away.

She visibly deflated. After all the scheming and plotting, she had hoped it wouldn't be in vain. All she could think to say was a meek, "Why?"

He sighed, in both annoyance and a tinge of guilt that made him itch even more at her presence.

Then she came closer, her eyebrows burrowed in the beginnings of a tantrum as it slowly dawned on her. "You don't even have a reason do you? You just up and changed your mind because... Because why, Vegeta? Did I piss you off THAT bad? Did you finally understand what a misfit I am and how humiliated your rep would get-?"

He said nothing, promptly her to encircle him and end up behind him, her eyes catching a thick, crescent-shaped scar on his back underneath his tank top. She reached out and lightly caressed its surface with a pristine finger.

"Are you scared..? To be seen with me?"

Upon feeling her touch and the silver jolt it sent through him, he spun on her. Taking her by the shoulders and pinning her to the fridge behind her, he roared, "NO! You have no idea what you're speaking of, you ridiculous girl! I am afraid of NO ONE, especially you!"

His words echoed between him as her lips gaped open at the shock of being handled so forcefully before. The sight before her was as terrifying as it was magnificent, his chest and nostrils heaving air with so much emotional exertion she thought it might blow her away. All she could look at however, were those obsidian pools of both rage and mystery. There was something behind them that she couldn't put her finger on, some kind of mystic trance that she had seen before when he'd look at her at school.

Almost like intrigue, or wonder. Like he wanted to see or know something from her. But what?

He stopped as it hit him, the sweet aroma of a vanilla musk permeating the air within their close proximity waking him up as what he was doing finally came in focus.

_There was a physical magnetism between them, and no longer able to take it anymore, he pushed her against the nearest wall. _

The image fluttered from his mind as his eyes blindly swept over her and his hands on her petite shoulders until they reached her eyes, which were clouded with that same mystified desire that he couldn't handle seeing actualize. He stood up straight, letting his hands fall to his sides as he looked away. Blinking, Bulma looked away with confusion replacing the momentary lust Vegeta had witnessed.

Without returning her gaze, he muttered a croaking, "You should go."

Bulma had a split second impulse to object, to bring up their agreement, to say SOMETHING that might change his mind. But hadn't that been the reason she showed up here? Letting her eyes close in imminent failure, she stepped through the doorframe and heard the door close behind her. Without the other knowing, they both stood where they were on either side of the closed door, wondering what just happened and how they could have done it differently.

* * *

No tears threatened to break Bulma's sturdy resolve as she went home, yet another grand idea swimming through her mass of blue waves. When she got to her bedroom, she shut the door behind her and leaned against it with confident eyes aiming at the closet across the room. A smirk grew on her lips, determination filling her cerulean orbs.

She wouldn't need a date. She wouldn't even need an invitation. All she needed was some closet-digging and a restless night of wearing a helmet over her hair rollers.

Tomorrow wasn't just about getting their attention. She was going to make them pay.

* * *

Well, well, well... No party til next time, guys! But I hope you still enjoyed it. And to make the party an even more spectacular one, I'll need some reviews/follows/feedback to pump me up! I appreciate every single one I get, even if you just put a smilie. A review is a review to me! (:

Any questions, concerns, comments.. Lemme know too. PMs are open but I'll answer them in review form too by making a quick shout out to you with the answer in the next update.

Enjoy the rest of your hump day and I'll be back before you know it with the party chapter everyone wants even more now!

~Jckash03


	7. An Unforeseen Transformation

WOW GUYS! Thank you all for your amazing feedback. I know one of you felt Vegeta was a little too lust-driven but remember, wet dreams aren't a joke and he DID reject Bulma's revised answer to his invite... Just Saiyan :3

But I love all my reviews, even that one. I hope the lyrics weren't too much, and thanks Cornichon for matching it up with the chapter to let me know it rocked. I'm certainly pleased that you agree!

On a side note, I'm putting here that East City is (no offense intended) kinda ghettotastic. West City is where they SHOULD be set in location-wise in the mythos but I couldn't find any mention of it in previous chapter although I really thought I had. And I do believe I have established everyone (at least Bulma) to be a Junior in High School. Ok, done making myself look even more unprofessional, ANYWAYS.

So without further nonsense, I do believe there is a party to get to...

Do enjoy my puppeteering these characters that I do not, as of today but maaaaybe not tomorrow, own. Boo.

* * *

It was Friday morning.

Anyone who was someone with an invitation to the party that night would be wearing their Friday best as a preface outfit to the dazzling number they'd be wearing later that night. This particular day of the week was a celebration among sorts in Orange Star High. Bulma wasn't one to follow the crowd, as was the cause for her reputation as the school's most excluded member of the student body.

But what Bulma did know how to do was stand out. And that she did just that with flying colours.

After zipping zippers and strapping leather, she checked her excessively volumized hair and crinkled her nose as she fluffed it with twitching motions. Did she really look as ridiculous as 18 and Launch did when THEY did their Friday dress-up routine? She felt like a hooker from the inner streets of East City, way too much skin and way too much shine.

...Oh well.

She put her bag on with half an hour left to go before the ominous bell rang, cursing how tired she already felt from getting up two hours prior to contribute as much time to her transformation. Hopefully, as she set off into the dewy rise of the morning sun, it would be worth it.

Vegeta wasn't aware prior to his entry into the classroom that there was a ridiculous routine every week for the dim-minded freaks to express their inner insanity by donning such hideously coordinated outfits. In fact, he could hardly stifle a choking laugh when he saw Goku wearing a black T-shirt with a plaid, sky blue tie over it. He stopped in front of Goku's seat in the front row before deciding to jeer the rival fighter.

With a monster smirk, he laid both hands on the desk a mere two feet away from the surprised martial artist and chided, "Are you seriously as intellectually challenged as I know you to be, or did you close your eyes when choosing your attire this morning?"

Goku's solid brown eyes regarded Vegeta darkly. "Are you seriously trying to insult me or are you just mad that it reminds you of somebody?"

Vegeta blanched and jerked back at the accusation before proceeding to his place. He glanced at the clock as Goku's irritating mention of her reverberated in his mind. It was already 7:50. Bulma was supposed to be some giant school nerd so he presumed she had a flawless attendance record. He rolled his eyes as his train of thought went back to the evening earlier, where she had tried to retract her initial declination of his invite to the party. He didn't let her, and instead shut the door on her and every asinine notion that she was sending through him that she could ever invoke anything other than pure annoyance.

Or, at least he had tried to.

With a bored scowl at the apparent fact that it hadn't worked, the class was still and lifeless as the Professor prepped for lecture. No one had even mentioned she wasn't there, but Goku felt a pinch of anxiety in him for some reason. All the three years he had known her, she had never once been late or absent to class as her father literally had an antidote for almost every common illness and her punctuality was impeccable due to her time OCD.

It was 8:01. What was going on?

His eyes snapped over to the left side of the classroom to meet the obsidian sympathy reflecting from ChiChi's worried gaze. She knew how much his friendship with Bulma meant to him, from all the sparring sessions that he had asked her out of the blue to participate in after school and he would nervously laugh off any mention of Bulma. The entire school was well aware of their camaraderie, but that never stopped Bulma from being singled out as an academic loser. ChiChi felt bad for her, and actually looked up to her for standing her ground. Most of the time... This thing with Vegeta was freaking her out, simply because he had it out for the boy she had a crush on.

Goku quickly turned away, a blush floating over his cheeks. He didn't understand the fluttery feeling in the pit of his stomach when they made contact. And the concern etched on her enchanting face seemed all the more appealing to him. But the confusion, along with his problems with Bulma was too much for the warrior.

The door abruptly swung open followed by the clanking of heels striking the floor, causing the entire class to turn heads at the visually striking presence of Bulma Briefs.

"Sorry I'm late," She exclaimed in a bored, casual tone with a smack of gum to boot. "My father wrote this for you, Teach'."

After lazily waving a note at the Professor, who wore the same stunned expression as most of the class, she let it drop on the podium in front of him and went to her seat next to Goku. A frozen blanket of silence befell the classroom for two solid minutes before awkward rearrangements of papers and pencils ensued.

As soon as the noise level returned, Goku slid over to whisper to the scantily clad Bulma, "What the HELL are you doing?"

She returned a frisky grin as she laid her head back with the smug satisfaction of a cat. "Whatever the hell I want, Goku-"

"Excuse me!" The Professor interjected her snide purring, now looked unamused more than startled by the unforeseen transformation in front of him as Bulma gave him a challenging glare. "If you want to be a distraction Miss Briefs, you may exit my classroom promptly!"

"Don't mind if I do..," She quipped with a raised eyebrow, not even stopping to get her things as she stood up. Vegeta not only looked on in pure disbelief at her behaviour, but had to catch his breath when he caught a full glimpse of her outfit. She was wearing the same exact skirt from his dream, black thigh his and a very tight and see-through white blouse. He didn't know much about female apparel, especially what went underneath the clothes since those usually got destroyed anyway. But he was pretty sure she wasn't wearing a brassiere. It was a shock as he felt the dream run through him all over again, but she also had a new sensuality that seemed to strike him right where it hurt. And being behind her didn't help at all either.

He leered on as she briskly walked out of the class, shaking her hips provocatively before deviously smirking. Vegeta could have sworn it was directed at him. He felt himself swallow. How did this happen? She was nothing but a mousy human, completely defenseless to her disposition in the high school population. Now she was this fiercely outspoken epitome of rebellion. His lips kicked up as the image of her schoolgirl skirt and stockings popped back in his mind, understanding the metaphor for a schoolgirl gone wrong.

She was finally making her point.

Vegeta had never felt so turned on in his life. He had to hold a clamped fist to his mouth to distract himself from the influx of blood travelling south. That mischievous smile she sent him triggered the monsoon of attraction that he had tried to avoid this entire time, but her dominant tirade and outfit today completely sealed the deal. He felt almost... proud of her.

Then the rage set in. She had way too much control over him if he couldn't control his senses. This had to stop. He had to leave, and for good. Using Goku's high school wasn't the best idea after all it seemed like. He just wanted to escape, to replenish his self-control and get away from her clutches of lust.

"You too, Ouji?" Asked the Professor. Vegeta hadn't even realized he'd stood up. Goku turned around, a look of outrage on his face.

"Don't worry. I'm not coming back," He said as he went down the stairs, facing Goku the entire time. Goku nodded, understanding that Vegeta WASN'T going after Bulma. If he did, Goku felt certain he would end Vegeta's life.

When Vegeta got to the hallway, he didn't really know where to go or what to do with himself. He felt so frustrated with himself, at his failed attempts to get Goku in a vulnerable enough spot to take out his vengeance. But now this girl... She completely impeded him. Yes, he had tricked her but it had only backfired on him. Adrenaline rushed through his hurt pride and he began striding down the hallway, needed to just get outside to fresh air.

"PSSST!"

He stopped. He felt everything stop as he felt a wave of magnetism pull at him to turn around and look at those flashing turquoise orbs.

"Where are you going, Vegeta?" Came her belltone question in a mixed tone of sadness and wonder. It echoed in his head over and over until he turned to her. She was cracking the girls' bathroom door open with her head peeking out. Her face held the same mischievous stare, luring him in there with her. He grappled with the stubborn demons in his head, reminding him of what a failure she had lead him to be. He clamped a fist, feeling that pull lower to the pit of his stomach and below...

He saw a hall monitor turn the corner from his peripheral vision and next thing he knew the door was closed behind him and he was surrounded by navy blue tiles and stalls. As well as the pungent odor of cigarette smoke from between Bulma's manicured fingers.

He looked at her with a flash of annoyance. "Why are you inhaling that malodorous garbage?"

"I like to smoke, actually. It calms me down."

Vegeta rolled his eyes and folded his arms, "How come I haven't seen you smoke?"

"Because you haven't seen me in my lab. When I get stuck in an experiment, I freak out."

He raised a thick black eyebrow and retorted smugly, "Are you getting stuck in this experiment?"

She scowled at him, thinning her eyes in offense. "Why did you come in here?"

"The hall monitor," Vegeta said in a slight cough, looking away. He wasn't prepared for that question. Bulma's lips rose in a smirk.

"You don't care about the hall monitor," She declared wryly. His eyes snapped to hers with warning, as they always did when she was pushing it. Instead of scaring her, it thrilled her. But she was trying to keep in mind the entire purpose of getting his and everyone's attention like this. She wasn't supposed to care.

"So what is this? Are you attempting to join the 'popularity parade' with all the other sheep? Maybe that Yamcha perhaps?"

"Excuse you! I'm not doing any such thing, Vegeta. I really don't know what you're talking about..." She finished with a faux innocent grin as she put her cigarette out in the sink. He returned it with a devious flash in his onyx orbs as he approached, not stopping until they were merely a foot apart from each other.

"Level with me, girl.. Do you really think your newfound bad girl charade is going to get his attention the way that you want it to?"

Her eyebrows etched together in confusion. "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means.. You are what you offer, Bulma. You may think this is power but really you're just handing it out."

"Handing what out, _Vegeta_?" She seethed, beginning to understand where this was going.

She watched as his eyes dropped to her stomach, and lowering every so slightly before flickering his gaze back to hers. "Everything."

A slap reverberated through the bathroom walls. "Screw you, Vegeta!"

Vegeta's face was only turned to the side as he blinked, feeling outrage swarm through him. She was just about to turn and leave before his hand shot out and grabbed her arm. Startled, she turned and glared at him with surprise filling her expression. There was almost an electric shock running like a current through her arm and his hand. Their eyes locked in that moment at the instantaneous heat that filled the room like smoke.

As the seconds wore on and realization hit, he tentatively let her arm fall from his grasp. His chest heaved with the pressure of what just went through his head, everything he had wanted to do to her in that moment. It was too much, again, and he couldn't breathe. He was crushed under the weight of this dilemma he had, his attraction to her too strong to keep his head clear enough to act.

Bulma's head swirled with confusion as well. Only a couple days ago he was just Vegeta, a strange and sometimes rude new kid who had it out for her best friend. And that was all. She had yet to even have a crush on anyone, and even Yamcha didn't count because she hardly knew him. And he had yet to even know she existed. But Vegeta did, and he was here. He had been the only one here with her this entire time.

All at once, it made sense. That same electricity they felt at his house the day before made him kick her out. He was scared. She knew there were many things, probably dark things that she didn't know about Vegeta... But that didn't seem to matter or change what just ran through her at his touch, though aggressive and heated as it may be.

She actually kind of... liked it.

She turned back to him, an innocent uncertainty fluttering through her cerulean gaze but once they were met by obsidian orbs it was washed away by an alluring passion. Bulma felt her hands reach up to his neck and face, her lips diving into his. As tormented as the still Vegeta was, he couldn't help but succumb to that burning want he felt from her, emanating from her scantily clad body. Just like in his dream, the mystifying force of their chemistry sent his hands down the periphery of her curves, resting on that damned skirt of hers.

Bulma felt herself sent into the wall, his mouth crashing into her neck as he reached for her thighs and pulled her up onto him. She could hardly breathe as the steel waves of tantalizing arousal struck her in ways she had never felt late at night when she would touch herself. She was aware of sex and was able to make herself climax... But this feeling seemed to surpass anything she had ever read or experienced. It couldn't be explained by scientific terms or processes. It overtook her and she was swimming in waves of exhilarating passion, unable to speak as her chest heaved with the musky air between them.

As she felt herself drowning in Vegeta's ministrations on her neck and jaw line, she remembered suddenly what she was supposed to do now. She had already let it go too far as it was...

His face came back up to hers, his lips hovering over hers as blue and black seemed to melt together in their heated gazes. Then she turned her head away, pushing off of him. He backed away, disbelieving what he had just done. That was nothing he had ever felt with any of the girls he'd previously slept with. This was what he was trying to prevent. He wasn't even supposed to be here.

"Vegeta, I can't."

He froze. SHE couldn't? Suddenly his ego perked up; Vegeta had never been rejected by a girl before. And after THAT was incredulous to him that any woman would say such a thing after.

"What nonsense are you spouting now-?"

She shook her head, feeling a torturous swell of regret already taking over as she heard the words fly from her mouth. "I'm sorry, I just can't!"

With that, she left him in the girls' bathroom, blinking in shock. To his bad luck, 18 and Launch walked in as Bulma was running out. They both sent raised eyebrows at her, and the noticed Vegeta standing there. Instantly giggling, Launch quipped, "Well I didn't expect to see that today."

Scowling, Vegeta pushed through him and growled, "Peasants."

"Hey!" 18 cried out, mockingly placing a hand on her chest with her eyebrows curved upwards dramatically. "I'm offended."

"Good!" Vegeta spat, sending both of them a deathglare.

"Aw.." Launch tilted her head. "I think new boy's angry at us, 18."

She rose a blonde eyebrow, "So.. Are you coming to my party, Vegeta?"

He stood quiet, regarding them coolly with a condescending silence.

18 snuck a nervous glance at Launch before looking to him with an evil smile, "It'll make you feel better, I promise."

Vegeta sighed. He knew better than to pass out an opportunity to distract himself from the mess he had made with his agenda there. He might as well let loose and give in to the invitation to be in the same highly regarded part of society... One where Bulma simply didn't belong.

And besides, free alcohol.

* * *

So she gave it up. Just like that. To symbolize the idiocy of her fellow classmates and prove some prideful point, she attained an unexcused absence (technically, until she would blusteringly explain to her father's stunned face) and surrendered a chance to feel and do something she had never done before. She still didn't know if she should go to this party tonight... How far would she go?

And would Vegeta go?

As she put her things on the floor that she had retrieved after class had rang out, she leaned on her front door and let out a huge sigh. This was a lot. What was she doing?

A knock on the front door behind her made her shriek. She had been all panic and nerves for skipping class, wearing an extremely slutty outfit, and being someone she wasn't. She feebly opened the door to see a visibly worried Goku.

"What are you doing?" He asked, and without the accusatory tone she expected.

She threw her hair back, faking confidence. "Nothing. Just felt like going home for the day."

He blinked, not knowing what to do with her answer. She hated making him look uncomfortable, it was so unlike his chill and carefree demeanor. Then he looked up at her, those wounded puppy eyes that made her think for almost a second she had her first crush on _him_.

It took her back to the last night they had spent together as preteens, and for good reason. Goku's naivety towards the anatomy of women became clear when he had woken up in the middle of the night and found the flailed about Bulma asleep with the covers everywhere but on her. He noticed she lacked the endowment that he had there, so he decided to pat it and see if it would appear. She woke up with a fright, knocking him off the bed as what followed was a very comical misunderstanding.

It was that shock that went through her at those innocent-minded pats. She remembered them soon after and thought it meant she was in love. But then he had met ChiChi at a tournament, and the rest was history. They coexisted as normal, that conversation never happening.

Until now.

"Goku..." She began with a pained expression but he stopped her with a question.

"Can I come in?"

She nodded, "Sure."

This time she took him to her bedroom. He went to sit on the bed and she in her computer chair, as always. It felt the same as it always had, except now it seemed a little heavier between them. Was it the kiss she asked for? Was it Vegeta?

"What is it, Goku?"

"Bulma I'm not here to hurt you, or not be here for you. Vegeta is bad news, and I heard you were caught running out of the.. girls' bathroom."

The way he swallowed when saying that with all of its crude implications made Bulma choke out a giggle. "Um, okay?!"

"Well.." He looked away, motioning as if he wanted to say something. She facepanned.

"Say it."

He looked over at her with wide, almost frightened brown eyes as he asked in the voice of a scared child, "Did he do something to your parts? You know, the one I..."

Since the incident, Goku realized it was a part of the body with a higher purpose than to be patted. And he also took Sex Ed, which he was never the same afterwards. Bulma held a hand up to stop his sentence.

"No... No he did not." She said with the utmost certainty except for the tinges of red flooding her pale cheeks. Goku let his lips curve a little.

"Why the blush there Briefs?" He taunted with a smile. She felt herself lighten at the sight of it. In that second, it was if nothing had gone wrong between them.

"Because, Goku.. " She looked away but the beaming blush faded as she recalled the ending of such events in the girls' bathroom. "It-It's nothing! And it doesn't matter. I'm-I'm STILL going to that party, Goku, whether he's there or not. I don't care!"

He stood up as he watched her cross her room, pacing in her shirt and stockings. He had to admit she did look a lot prettier than usual but it didn't give him those same flutterings in his stomach.

Then he briefly wondered if Vegeta got those for Bulma.

"Bulma, you should go."

She looked over at him from across her bedroom, her face stunned. "Huh?"

"Seriously. I want you to go. If you like him... That is."

Her eyebrows dug in a little as she walked toward him, her hand wrapping around one of the poles from her pink bed frame. "Why?"

"Because you need to be happy, too. I know what it's like to like somebody. You get these little crawly things in your tummy and they swirl around and around the longer you look at them. When they walk into a room, you feel it light up."

Her eyes widened. Was he talking about her?! Her hand rested on her chest as it swelled with a dizzy grandeur. "Goku..?"

"Yeah. ChiChi. I asked her to spar with me after school while you and I weren't talking. Ever since she's been.. amazing. I can't even describe it. And she's worried about you too. We want you to be better than this."

She blinked as her chest dropped slightly. He wasn't talking about her. Relief flooded her chest as she looked up at him with questioning blue eyes. "What about.. You know, what I did."

He shook his head, "It's okay. I know why you did that."

Tilting her head inquisitively, his boyish smile appeared.

"You hadn't had that feeling for Vegeta yet. Did you think it was never going to happen?"

"Well.. No, I was scared Goku, I didn't see him like that. And I'm still not sure if I can..."

"Why?"

Her expression darkened, "He doesn't know how to be close to someone. I went to his house and he... He gave me this look and then kicked me out."

"What look?"

She swallowed, "Like he was hungry. Like a...Monster."

Then it was his face that darkened, considerably so. "Bulma, what did he do to you? Tell me!"

She shook her head feverishly. "No, no. He didn't DO anything but if he hadn't kicked me out, I think..."

"You think what?"

"I think he would have kissed me. But as soon as we were close enough to, he stopped and told me to leave."

Goku shook his head.

"It.. would have been my first kiss."

"Bulma! Why did you go there by yourself anyway?"

"Because he was the one who invited me to this party at 18's tonight. At first I declined because.. Because I didn't feel I was good enough to be there. And I wouldn't fit in, especially without you."

His face softened as he stared into her misty eyes.

She continued softly, "Then I.. I decided after our fight that I wasn't going to give up like that. Only something changed with Vegeta. He was more distant and wouldn't talk to me, you saw! So this morning I decided to show everyone what I got because I don't need Vegeta. And I don't even need you, Goku."

"Yes, you do. Obviously. You go chasing my martial art rivals who KNOW how close we are and you think it's a good idea to get in between us!"

Bulma scoffed incredulously, stubbornly placing her hands on her hips. "What are you talking about now?"

"Bulma," Goku stepped toward her, taking a hand in his, "You need to stay away from him. Vegeta is dangerous and he isn't here for fun and games with you! He's here to fight me, and I don't know exactly why. He's only trying to get to ME through YOU."

Her face crumpled into shock and confusion as she stepped back. Was she really a pawn in some weird revenge plot between Goku and Vegeta?

"If you go tonight, I'm going with you. I'm going to protect you, whatever it takes. You're my best friend-"

"Stop! Just stop. I don't believe you're doing this to me," She snapped.

"What? I'm not the one who's going to do something to you!"

"Vegeta... is different. Yes, he is a little off, but he is NOT a killer or monster that you say he is. That look he had was the same look he had today when we kissed. He wasn't hurting me in the girls' bathroom, Goku. Even when I turned him down..."

"That doesn't mean he won't." Goku retorted flatly. Bulma frowned.

"Then leave. I'm done hearing your wild theories about someone that I know better than you do."

"Bulma, just because he's physical with you doesn't mean he's safe."

Her eyes flashed with the same outrage she felt earlier when Vegeta commented on the suggestiveness of her outfit. "Get out. Before I put you out myself. You said it yourself that you knew what it was like to like someone. Apparently not."

He shook his head. "You're playing with fire, Bulma. It's your choice, but don't get burned."

* * *

Vegeta threw on his wifebeater and gym pants, never seeing the point of dressing up for these things. He'd rather be comfortable than blend in with the pretentious crowd. But he knew it'd be dark, completely incognito to spot Goku before Goku spotted him. He performed his nightly ritual of staring into the mirror at himself, watching the televised death of his father and his entire city in flames in his head. He heard the voices of his father's Commander, Frieza, attempting to soothe him with a twisted homage to his heritage when he didn't even belong to it. The entire chain of events was suspicious as it was, but all he knew was it started with that laser stabbing through his father's torso as he was sitting on the throne of East District, watching the Martial Arts Tournament.

Instead, everyone bore witness to the death of its crowned leader. Everyone including his son, who lost everything thereafter, and there was only one person in his mind to avenge his father by descending the same brutal death upon him. All he needed was a close enough shot, and enough people out of the damn way.

And this time, it wouldn't involve that ridiculous female.

But once again his thoughts about his true agenda were shattered by those conflicted cerulean orbs piercing into his with their hazy yearning and burning lust tempting him to envelope himself in her tantalizing scent. His Saiyan senses picked up every wave of musk that indicated her growing arousal, only exacerbating his own. He was mystified by her effect on him, but disturbed by it all at once. Not only was he not used to it whatsoever, but it was a liability. It was complicating matters further for him and the reason he was there to begin with.

He never should have created that agreement.

It was too late to regret that now. Hopefully she decided against this damn party and wouldn't distract him from his endeavor of a distraction from her. And possibly an opportunity to carry out his vengeance.

* * *

Goku felt his chest fluttering again as he stepped up to the door to ChiChi's cottage in the hills. Her huge, burly father opened the door and greeted him kindly. When she came out in jeans and a red satin tank top, he swooned.

"Ready to go?" She asked him, her face drawn with excitement. He took a breath in to regain his composure, it was such a silly feeling.

"Yeah! Alright, see ya Ox King!" Goku called out as they jumped in his classic red convertible. He tried to push the ominous tension of what could really happen tonight out of his head, already anxious to find Bulma so he could monitor everything. The pressure of keeping the imminent danger that was Vegeta away from his best friend pulsed in him, but when ChiChi laid her hand on his while he drove, he felt himself instantaneously calm down.

Maybe tonight wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

Bulma stood in front of the mirror. There she was. Leather thigh high boots with a leather skirt to match. She put on her black gloves and motorcycle helmet, ready for everything she knew the night was going to be. Bulma Briefs had never once just let loose, releasing that wild adventurous steak in her since she had been younger with more innocent intentions. Now, she was prepared to do whatever necessary to be the opposite of who she was pegged to be.

She was tired of the perfection that everyone envied. Her ego was still as elevated as before, except she felt a little more powerful this time.

_"You may think this is power but really you're just handing it out."_

"No.. You're wrong, Vegeta. And you're about to find out, tonight."

Her words echoed around her as she stared at her transformed reflection, feeling just as exhilarated as she felt alienated from her former self.

* * *

Bass seemed to vibrate the entire neighborhood, cars parking in every possible space available in the large culdesac of 18's mansion. Her and her antisocial brother 17 had been adopted by ' archrival , who had a considerable track record of importing dangerous and illegal chemicals to experiment with. Unfortunately no one had proof so he raked in the cash by exporting it to unknown parties, allegedly. Bulma shivered as she got off her bike in front of its glowing mass, and not from the evening breeze.

Vegeta was enjoying his third beer, up on the stairs that faced the front door so he had hawkeye vision on every person who entered. He had been waiting to see that asinine grin on that clown's face when he walked in with the black-haired harpy. He had seen the girl at various tournaments, and wondered if it was part of some kind of conspiracy between the two to kill his father. But before he could ponder it further, the bright flash of blue appeared at the door.

Suddenly there was an uproar. At first, Bulma stood awkwardly, awaiting social execution for turning up at a high profile party. But word had spread by the end of the school day of her first period antics. Her eyes widened as suddenly she was picked up by the jocks and the room began to cheer for her to drink. Vegeta stood, watching as she became a celebrated spectacle.

_Cause you're lost in front of me_

_It's true, I'm losing you_

_Cause you're lost in front of me_

_It's true, I'm losing you_

_And you know it's over_

_When you're going down_

_Take everything and live for the moment,_

_It's only gonna bring you down tonight._

* * *

FINALLY. So sorry guys, this is what happens when you get a new full time job and it's overwhelming as hell. Had to tear this whole gem out of me in one go tonight. What do you think? I heard you guys out on wanting more of Vegeta's back story, here it is. And I'm not trying to push him over the OOC ledge but he does have an attraction to Bulma that I try to balance with the same stubborn pride apathy thing.

Trust me... It gets better.

The more feedback, the harder I'll try to get the long-awaited party chapter out by the weekend! I know I teased you guys with more hubbub and a cliffhanger but...

Too bad. Anticipation is the finest form of foreplay. And it's going to get a little hot up in here.

The above lyrics do not belong to me but to Gemini and their song "And Blue, which will also be utilized in the next chapter. If you wish to match it while you read, make sure you find the version that's around 4 minutes and 51 seconds, it's the better version.

Reviews make the heart grow fonder, as well. See ya soon!

~Jckash03


	8. Flashing Lights in Hazy Eyes

Hey guys... My bad. Totally got sucked into the vortex of a full-time job and was completely drained of enough energy to fight my phase of writer's block. But alas, it was temporary, and here is that golden chapter so many of you were waiting for.

However, before I placate your desires, I would like to address something. I love EVERY review I get (and for last update that was AMAZING- my perpetual thanks!), so please do not get me wrong or take this as a sign of offense. I have just prided myself in the last decade of my journey into fanfiction writing in never having my portrayals of Vegeta deemed "OOC". Granted this was stated in a positive manner, which I am extremely grateful for but for the girls' bathroom scene I believe Vegeta WOULD have reacted with silence to contemplate his convictions first and then in that animalistic impulse grab Bulma to claim her in the only way he knows how, which would be sex. And yes, his attraction to Bulma was intense last chapter in the classroom scene due to the facts that he's deprived, Saiyan, and basically saw his Bulma schoolgirl wet dream practically playing out right in front of him.

I'm not having Vegeta be the virgin-yet-shockingly-talented-sex-god in this fic nor am I having him be a manwhore either. But Vegeta is a dominant and also TEENAGE personality in a somewhat peaceful setting without all the galactic/Android/etc stories that shaped him into a stoic, stubborn and cold-hearted rock. This Vegeta's had the privilege of being a Prince in the martial arts world where he's had his share of concubines or "prizes". He is still an outsider to the group by his District and a rival to Goku, and still a smug Prince with the same nightmarish past.

This may be my fault for not providing enough backstory, and I apologize. Bear in mind I am growing WITH this story, I have the periphery of its entirety planned in general but I create as I write so I'm forming everything as I go along. But trust everything will come together in the end...

It always does.

* * *

As she was being carried amongst the peculiar mass of football players alike, Bulma's cerulean orbs widened at the sudden response to her presence. Never had she been so noticed, so relevant, so _recognized._

She felt like a new person almost, like a majestic wave of empowerment was being thrusted into her from every shout, every clap, every cheering that she had arrived.

That is, until her eyes swept to her right, and almost immediately her gaze swept across the top of the stairs to be pierced by that metallic obsidian glare. Her insides dropped as she felt her body suddenly flush when her skin paled to ice. She had almost forgotten he would be there, that he even existed.

That he had not only rejected her re-acceptance to go with her, but also that she rejected him when he finally wanted her.

He was so immensely confusing, and the electric shock that stroked her core when she recalled the bathroom scene only intensified it. She snapped her face away from that frozen moment so that he couldn't see the inevitable blush and hazy eyes.

But he did.

There were also other pairs of icy orbs that aimed their spite at the applauded outcast. 18 and Launch's eyes were shocked at the scene in front of them. Suddenly their spotlight was shrinking and their turf being invaded by the one person whose social weakness became their power.

"That bitch!" 18 sneered. They thought the rumor of her newfound defiance and sex appeal was just that- a rumor. Instead she found herself staring at someone who could bring down her entire image of female dominance.

She felt a surge of rage course through her, and suddenly she launched herself into a determined stride to the crowd surrounding the academic princess. Launch saw this and her hand shot out to grab her best friend in vain, startled concern etched on her face, "18, no!"

Bulma had been put down in her black-clad glory, shimmering under the flashing strobe lights that filled the dance floor with a serene look of awe on her face that slowly fading when her dropped gaze caught sight of her high school archenemy practically flying through the crowd toward her in an aggressive stomp.

"Excuse me, but I don't remember inviting the school's garbage disposal to MY party?!" 18 demanded cooly, looking Bulma up and down like a cat at rotten fish.

Bulma felt lost for words, her throat clamping shut as her usually over-calculating brain attempted to process the sudden obstacle in front of her. Then she felt a strong arm wrap around her shoulders, sending a surprising warm spreading through her.

"Shut up, 18. She's with me."

Both 18's and Bulma's blue eyes shot to see a smug Yamcha sending 18 a crooked smile. 18's face faulted, her jaw clamping in annoyance. "You've got to be kidding."

"Heh," Yamcha looked down to Bulma's pale, flabbergasted face and replied, "Would I joke about being with such a cute chick at a party?"

Suddenly cheers erupted and 18's outrage was swallowed by the onset of loud bass and everyone surrounding them once again in a celebration. Bulma was awestruck at what was happening. Not only was she actually being accepted by her peers but she found herself in the protective embrace of one of the most popular guys in school. She felt so enchanted, like in a fairy tale dream that she never wanted to wake up from.

"Hey," Yamcha's voice broke her thoughts over the loud music as she came back to awareness, "Don't let them get to you, okay? Just stay with me, I got ya."

He winked a chocolate eye at her and she felt her heart melt. Was this real? Or just another pending disappointment like her most recent one...

"So.. Why did you do that anyway?" She asked him over the blaring music, a skeptical eyebrow raised at him. He then dipped his head low to her ear, sending tingles up her scalp as his cheek brushed against hers.

"Because I felt like it."

Before her grin could even form her on elated expression, she felt a firm grip on her arm and turned around to see Goku looking at Yamcha sternly.

"Bulma, I need to talk to you. Now," He added sternly. Her nervous glance fluttered to Yamcha and then to Goku before nodding and allowing him to guide her to the balcony. She sent an apologetic glance at Yamcha, whose solemn expression deflated her slightly.

Once outside, Bulma screeched at Goku without any care for the few people near them smoking cigarettes, "Why did you do that to me?! I really like him, Goku-

"I know you do. But from what I've seen, he's not the best guy for you to be-"

"Then who the hell is, huh?! You don't want me around Vegeta, you won't let me dance with the only crush I've ever had and who actually LIKES ME BACK, so who then?!"

ChiChi walked up from behind Goku, sincere look on her face as she warmly said to her angry friend, "Look, we just don't want to see you hurt Bulma."

Bulma shot her scorching glare at ChiChi and snapped, "That's very convenient for you to worry about then you two are together and happy and HAVE SOMEONE to be with! I, however, do not. And you know what I think it REALLY is?"

Goku, who still didn't know how to react to her tantrum, stood still and regarded her with a skeptical stare as ChiChi held her words too. Bulma leaned close to Goku with a threatened whisper.

"You just don't want to see me included in your little popularity clique. You only liked the loser Bulma who could never belong to this world. Well you know what? Maybe I do, maybe I don't but the fact of the matter is you don't want to see me happy obviously. Ever!"

With that, she turned on her heel, leaving the two to look at each other hopelessly.

* * *

He felt the twilight air flowing through him, his upright black mane swaying slightly within the breeze. Still, it did nothing to soften the sharp stab of contempt when he saw that fool claim the girl as his date to this asinine gathering. He hated these parties, the absurd behavior and lack of sense he observed at each and every one only sent him into disdain for his generation. He reminded himself that his aim was Goku, the only reason for his otherwise non-negotiable presence here.

But when Vegeta saw her, once again hs focus went dull with hormones that he couldn't control nor understand. He didn't _want _to understand, he simply wished them eradicated. He lost his composure and usually solid self-control in the girls' bathroom with her there, that close in such a proximity that he was enveloped in an insurmountable urge by her feminine wiles. And then she rejected him for it; which had sliced his ego for a very brief moment before he realized she had done him an excellent favour.

Getting close to her was a mistake. Choosing her to be the route to take out his vengeance was a mistake. Even acknowledging her existence was something he merely wished he could reverse somehow, prevent it from ever getting to this unimaginable obstacle.

He wouldn't be able to not acknowledge the clicking of thick heels, the perforating aroma of vanilla, nor the swish of shimmering turquoise locks as the object of his distraction was lighting a cigarette suddenly feet away from him. Her eyes were lit with a silver fury when they unabashedly flickered to his as she inhaled her vice.

They said nothing, both leaning on the wooden railing that surrounded the spacious balcony on the opposite side of where Goku and ChiChi had tried to confront her. She rolled her eyes and pushed it from her mind, still reeling from how her big moment felt stolen from her. She needed air and definitely some nicotine, so she just felt herself walk and walk until the end of the balcony, where she saw the dark, mysterious figure that turned out to be the one person she had wanted to avoid for the night.

But at that point, she didn't care anymore. What she did wonder though, was why he had even come if he took away his offer in the first place? He had never seemed like a people person from the beginning. 'If there even WAS a beginning..' Bulma thought in spite. She caught her curious gaze magnetically floating to Vegeta, noticing he didn't wear anything much different than his usual outfit except he had slacks and not sweatpants. Still the same back wifebeater and equally dark scowl on his face, but his face was gently moving with the air in such a hypnotizing manner that she didn't even realize she was watching for so long until she heard the expectant growl.

"What are you staring at?"

Embarrassed he caught her, she drew in a breath and pointed at his drink, still not done mulling over her ruined moment. "What is that?"

Vegeta simply gazed at her with a raised eyebrow, not saying anything. Bulma's face faulted and she reached out, took his drink and swigged it back.

She immediately coughed and sputtered, not expecting the gigantic burn that she felt drop into her esophagus. When she recovered, she looked up and saw a hint of a smirk on Vegeta's face as a dull wave of dizziness went through her.

"Wow.. Whatever that is, I like it," She said, laughing.

"Fantastic, now get your own." He said, turning to face the railing again and resuming his serious demeanor. She knew he was probably pissed at her, but she didn't know what to say or what she even felt about it. She decided in the haze of whatever she had just drank to just act normal.

"Hmpf, you're the man, you should get me one!" She blurted, her hand on her hip for emphasis. Amused, Vegeta turned to face her again with a smirk.

"I don't know, you look pretty masculine to me."

Unfazed, Bulma retorted with a smug smile, "Well I guess I'll get them since I'm more of a man than you are apparently."

Before he could send her a snarl at her remark, she was already walking away from him with a confident stride into the house through a nearby pair of open doors. He quickly regained control over his line of vision and moved it away so he couldn't watch her from behind. Her outfit from the front was tantalizing enough as it was. He felt the burn of self-loathing at his petty attraction to the blue-haired female, but nonetheless, he really felt too drained to give a damn what happened next.

The last week of events was such a flurry of confusion and inner conflict. He had never foreseen any female to ever become such a distraction as Bulma had. No matter how annoyingly stubborn or pathetically naïve she was, he felt this physical magnetism toward her whenever she was near him. No matter where he went, she was there. Even in his solitude, she invaded his thoughts and caused a repulsion deep in his gut at the mere fact.

He breathed out his frustration through his nostrils before hearing the clicking again. And there she was, her sparkling eyes and darkened, long lashes fluttering at him with a cold liquor-spiked drink in her hand.

What man could possibly resist?

He shook his head at himself in his mind, he wasn't just ANY other man and certainly not at all like the rest of them. He was higher than them all, mightier and more majestic than they'd ever be. Especially that Yamcha character as well as his target Goku. But when he looked at her and accepted the drink that caused their hands to brush with that electric force at their subtle contact, he felt more like a man allowing her to be in his presence. Rising to the occasion of a deeply sensual pursuit suddenly seemed strong and more masculine in his perspective.

"Well are you going to drink it, or think about drinking it for an hour?" She asked with a sarcastic smile in her voice and lips. Her saccharine tone broke his chain of thoughts and seemed to mend them into a conclusive determination all at once.

"I'll do whatever I please, girl," He declared off-handedly, letting the searing intoxication drown his anxiety. 'Fuck it', he thought as he looked out past the balcony.

"Well.. What do you _please _to do?" She asked, her back to the railing as she leaned on it, her eyes peering at him with dizzy inquisition.

"Listen to silence," He croaked, taking another drink. He could almost hear her wide eyes rolling at his response.

She put her drink on railing and somehow propped herself up onto it, so she was sitting on its ledge looking down at him with exasperation, "Well can I ask you something first?"

"No."

"Why did you come tonight?" She blurted, ignoring his refusal. He was silent for a moment, as if pondering how to respond and still looking only straight ahead.

"Why do you care?"

"Well.." She started, looking off to the opposite direction and then down at her knees, which were hidden within the leather of her thigh-high boots,"..You didn't want my answer to go with you the second time so I thought you just weren't interested in going. But now since you're here, I guess you just didn't want to come here... with me."

For a second, Vegeta felt a strange panic when her liquir-induced words of painful honesty pricked at his insides. Before he could even think what to say, she immediately interrupted the space of stony silence.

"But, I got over it and I decided that I'm not going to let anyone get me down anymore. Not 18, not Goku, and not..."

"Heh," Vegeta scoffed lightly, "Let me guess, me is it..? Am I getting you down, Bulma?"

At the shock of hearing him say her name, her misty blue eyes shot down to see his piercing back up to hers. Her lips trembling as her soft reply purred through them, "You can try."

Everything in his body pulled at him with the urge to remove her from the ledge of the railing and take her there on the spot at those dizzying, seductive words. But she looked away, the tension in the air too thick for her to breathe in. As Vegeta's hormones relaxed, something about what she had said caught his interest.

"You said 'Goku' gets you down... How so?" He asked, a cat's curiosity dripping off his tongue. Bulma shrugged, looking down again as she felt a wave of despondence run through her head, making her light and dizzy in her building inebriation.

"Well I guess he just doesn't want to see me happy. He's been there for me all my life but as soon as things start changing, suddenly I'm doing everything wrong somehow."

"Somehow...?" Vegeta pursued.

"I don't know, it's like he won't let me have anyone but him in my life. I mean, he's with ChiChi and all and I even asked him if he'd kiss me-"

"You did what?!" Vegeta snapped, startling Bulma.

"I.. I only asked him if he WOULD if.. No one else ever did. You know, just to see how deep his friendship is with me. He's the only connection to the outside world of my lab and my family, my only friend I've ever had and I have a hard time making them, as you know," She said, her face scowling at the end. Vegeta's expression sobered, relating to the notion of social alienation. Except he chose it, whereas Bulma had no alternative.

"And why is that, I wonder." Vegeta said with a sardonic tone, trying to mask his frustrating empathy but she continued without noticing.

"Because I don't open up to anyone very easily. At all. I'm smart, I know better.. Humans are so complex, so unpredictable. Computers and technology aren't, that's why they're my life. My passion."

Vegeta felt strange, not just because of the influx of alcohol in his system but everything she was saying that was making his head spin. He couldn't pinpoint it, but something made her seem so familiar to him, so real. He had nothing to say, no way of processing what was happening between them and still reluctant to acknowledge it by partaking.

"What's your passion, Vegeta?"

"I don't know," Was all he said, trying to deflect her attempts to keep the conversation going. But of course, the stubborn witch persisted. She clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"Oh, come on. You have to be passionate about something."

"Not anymore."

She paused, contemplating his answer. She wouldn't be surprised if something had happened to Vegeta to make him as cold and stoic as he was from time to time. But there were so many moments that she saw a shade of something deeper flash through those onyx orbs. She just felt something else coming from him that was totally different than how he came off most of the time and to everyone around him.

He was something.. more. More than she or anyone else would have thought.

"Well.. I know you like fighting," She suggested lightly, trying to keep his attention though still not sure why. After all, Yamcha had not only noticed her but seemed to like her and that had been a dream come true moment. But something, maybe the alcohol, maybe something else... Something kept her there, right there with _him._

"What about it?"

She swallowed, feeling butterflies at the wall he was putting up. Why was it that every time she got a little closer, he backed away?

"Well I know you had a lot of respect back at your District, and here it's pretty much the same thing. ChiChi and Goku fight together in tournaments, so they're kind of like royalty since fighting is what get you respect."

He scoffed deeply, "First off, they are NOTHING near true, bloodline Royalty... And there is a fine line between pride and respect."

"So you value pride more? Is that why you're being like this?" She asked with a tinge of agitation in her voice.

"You know nothing about pride, girl and I'm not being anything. Quit being foolish."

"Foolish? No, I think I know what it is. You're mad at me, aren't you?" She asked boldly. He shot his obsidian glare at her.

"And whatever for? Do you honestly think I care what you do?" He snapped, but it didn't phase her determined peer.

"Did I hurt your pride when I pushed you away..?"

When she said it, bringing the visual of their heated physical exchange back into his memory, he immediately tensed and looked away, far away from those unavoidable cerulean orbs.

"How dare you.." He muttered venomously.

"What? I'm right, aren't I?" She asked blatantly.

Then he turned on her, their faces inches apart as she sat upright on the ledge and he pointed his angered expression at her, "How dare you place yourself on such a pedestal that you believe I would be affected by that ridiculous display that is nothing but irrelevant to me!"

"Really?! I'm irrelevant to you? Sure didn't seem that way in the girls' bathroom this morning!" She yelled, catching the attention of a gathering crowd.

He snarled even closer to her, "That wasn't anything TO be relevant!"

"Oh yeah? Is THIS irrelevant?"

She lunged forward and crashed her mouth onto his in the fury of their spat, attaching their lips in a furious, heated kiss that caused an eruption of cheering around them. When they broke apart and saw the audience, it only added to the intense shock of what Bulma had just done. Growling, Vegeta grabbed her off of the ledge and carried her cradle-style to the farther corner of the balcony on the opposite side where no one could see them before propelling into the air.

* * *

WOO! Done in one sitting and man does my back hurt. Not as long as I was hoping but I wanted to leave you guys thirsting again... I'm sorry! With enough review, I'm sure I'll be more inclined to satisfy even more next time... Hehehe.

Everyone have a good rest of your weekend and I promise not to delay my next update as much as this one! Thank you all for reading and any feedback is appreciated.

Until next time,

Nicolesque


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